Storylines – vs. Fairmont State University
Fairmont State enters into Thursday night's matchup coming off of 1-1 week with the Fighting Falcons defeating Urbana 86-74 before falling to the Falcons of Notre Dame College, 90-84, during a two-game road trip last week. Head Coach Joe Mazzulla's team sits in the second slot in current Mountain East Conference standings with a 13-3 league record, 16-6 overall, and are just above UVa-Wise in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 86 points per game. The Fighting Falcons senior guard Jason Jolly ranks 10th in the conference in scoring as he leads his team with 18.4 ppg and shooting 42.8 percent from the field. Jolly has been especially efficient from behind the arc with his 3.9 three-point field goals per game placing him third in the league rankings and fourth in the nation in Division II individual statistics. From three-point range, Fairmont State is shooting 39.1 percent from downtown while recording a free throw percentage of 68.9 percent. Mazzulla's squad is posting 37.1 rebounds per game, led by senior guard Vonte Montgomery who is registering 7.9 boards per contest. As a team, Fairmont State is averaging 14.3 assists and 10.6 turnovers so far this season. The Fighting Falcons have only lost two games at home in their current campaign with only one conference home loss against Urbana last month. Fairmont State will return to action inside the Joe Retton Arena Saturday with a game against Concord before getting back on the road for a matchup against Charleston next week.
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise begins a decisive four-game road stretch Thursday night against the Fighting Falcons. The Cavaliers finished last week with a pair of close losses against No. 5 West Liberty, 112-100, and Wheeling Jesuit, 79-72. Now at 4-12 in the Mountain East Conference, 7-15 overall, Blake Mellinger's team sits in a three-way tie for tenth place in the league with Glenville State and Wheeling Jesuit. UVa-Wise will seek its first road win of the season against Fairmont as the team looks to go 1-1 against the Fighting Falcons after being defeated at home by then-ranked Fairmont State, 106-80. As a team, UVa-Wise is averaging 83.5 points per game and shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from behind the arc. As the Cavs begin to close out regular season play, the team will strive to improve at the foul line. From the free throw line, UVa-Wise is shooting just 66.7 percent while opponents are shooting 76.5 percent from the charity stripe. The team is posting 39.3 boards per game, ranking in the top-five in the league in both offensive (11.7, 5th) and defensive (27.9, 3rd) rebounds per game. Thursday's game will see two of the top three-point shooters in Division II as Fairmont's Jolly and redshirt freshman
Briggs Parris take the court. Parris ranks second in the league and third in the nation in three-point field goals per game (3.91) and fourth in the country in total three-point field goals made (86-198) with his 43.4 percent three-point field goal percentage placing him third in the conference. The Cavs will stay on the road with a matchup against Shepherd University Saturday afternoon with tip slated for 4 p.m.
