FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The No. 23-ranked Fairmont State men's basketball team will return to action on Sunday afternoon when Davis & Elkins comes to town for the Falcons' 2021 home opener at 4 p.m. inside Joe Retton Arena. The Falcons will look to move to 2-0 on the season after rolling to a 110-85 win over West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday evening in Buckhannon.
 
NOTE: As previously announced by the Mountain East Conference and its 12 member institutions, Sunday's game will take place without spectators as part of the league's COVID-19 return to play protocols. All MEC events will follow the league-wide no spectator policy until at least Jan. 19, 2021.
 
Sunday's game will be live streamed on MountainEast.tv and will include live play-by-play from the voice of the Fighting Falcons Travis Jones and analyst Duane Cochran. Fans can also listen to live radio coverage on SKY 106.5 FM as Travis and Duane will bring you all the action from Joe Retton Arena. Live links for Sunday's game are available above.
 
Fairmont State Men's Basketball Notebook

• Fairmont State enters Sunday's game with a commanding 91-40 all-time series lead over the Senators. The Falcons and Senators split their 2019-20 series home-and-home, with D&E winning in Fairmont (81-78) and the Falcons winning in Elkins (76-73) during the second meeting in late January.
• The Senators shot nearly 63 percent from the field, including 12-of-22 from three, during their 81-78 win in Fairmont last November.
• During Thursday's season opener against Wesleyan, the Falcons recovered from an early shooting slump to roll past the Bobcats 110-85 in Buckhannon. In the win, eight players reached double-figures, including a team-high 18 points from senior Cole VonHandorf.
• VonHandorf also passed a career milestone during Thursday's win by becoming the 52^nd player in Fairmont State men's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. He passed the milestone on a 3-pointer at the 1:55 mark of the opening half.
• With his team-high 18 points on Thursday night, VonHandorf climbed to 48^th in school history in career scoring with 1,015 points. He needs just six more points to pass Caleb Davis for 47^th on the all-time scoring list.
• In addition to VonHandorf's milestone night, Dale Bonner netted 15 points to go with four assists and three steals, and Seth Younkin and Ilisia Washington netted 13 points apiece for the Falcons. Isaiah Sanders also scored 12, while Przemyslaw Golek and Andrew Mills each tossed in 11. Golek just missed a double-double by also pulling down nine rebounds to lead the Falcons on the glass.
• JMU transfer Zyon Dobbs was also impressive in his debut by filling the stat sheet with 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
• On Thursday, the Falcons improved to 12-1 under head coach Tim Koenig when shooting over 50 percent from the field (11-1 last season).
• Against Wesleyan, the Falcons also scored over 100 points in a game under Koenig for the fifth time in the last two seasons.

 
Season Outlook

• Fairmont State entered the 2021 under second-year head coach Tim Koenig, who led the Falcons to their sixth NCAA Tournament bid in the last eight seasons in 2019-20. Koenig and the Falcons earned the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Regional and were set to face Shippensburg in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Falcons ended last season with a 23-7 overall record.
• The 23 wins by Koenig and the Falcons in 2019-20 are tied for the most by a first-year head coach, matching Jerrod Calhoun's total in 2012-13. The 22-6 regular season record was also the best in program history for a first-year coach.
• Fairmont State was picked to finish second in the 2021 MEC Preseason Poll that was announced on Wednesday afternoon. The Falcons finished second in the voting with 111 points and one first-place vote. West Liberty was atop the preseason poll with 121 points and 11 first-place votes. The Hilltoppers visit Joe Retton Arena next Wednesday in what is shaping up to be a top-25 matchup.
• The Falcons have appeared in all five editions of the NABC Division II men's basketball poll this season. Fairmont State checked in at No. 20 in the preseason poll back in November, and comes into today's game at No. 23 in the latest edition of the top-25 ranking.
• The Falcons returned four starters from last year, including the All-MEC duo of Dale Bonner and Cole VonHandorf. 
• A season ago, Bonner became the first freshman in league history to earn first team All-MEC honors to go along with freshman of the year accolades. Bonner was first on the team in scoring (17.8), assists (5.3) and steals (2.3) and second in rebounding (4.8) during the 2019-20 campaign.
• Bonner's 534 points as a redshirt-freshman were the fifth-most among freshman in NCAA Division II last season.
• In addition to his league honors, Bonner was also voted second team All-Atlantic Region by D2CCA.
• VonHandorf also earned first team All-MEC honors last season after finishing second on the team in scoring and first in made 3-point field goals.
• VonHandorf is currently 10^th in school history with 138 career 3-point field goals and his .812 career free throw percentage ranks 8^th in FSU men's basketball history.
• Junior Isaiah Sanders also returns for the Falcons in 2021 after averaging 14.1 points and shooting 60 percent from the field a season ago. Sanders reached double-figures in 17 of the final 18 games a season ago.
• The Falcons will have to find a way to replace the production of Kenzie Melko-Marshall, who wrapped up his Fairmont State career in 2019-20 after an injury sidelined him for the 2020-21 season earlier this fall. Melko-Marshall earned second team All-MEC honors a season ago after averaging 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
• Twenty-one of Fairmont State's 30 games last season were decided by a single-digit margin, including 11 that were decided by three points or less. In games decided by three-or-less points, the Falcons were 9-2.