Falcons will face CIAA champion Virginia State

Notre Dame College men’s basketball coach Tim Koenig believes in thorough preparation.

“We want the players to be ready for every situation they’ll face, on the court and off,” Koenig said.

That preparation paid a huge dividend last week in the Mountain East Conference men’s tournament in Wheeling, W. Va.

The Falcons beat West Virginia State, Fairmont State and No.1 seed West Liberty to claim the program’s first conference tournament title and an automatic bid the NCAA Division II tournament.

NDC (23-8) earned the No. 6 seed in the Atlantic Region and will face No. 3 seed Virginia State University on March 16 in the first round at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Tipoff is at noon.

After practice on March 13 at NDC’s Murphy Gymnasium, Koenig said moving past the high of winning the MEC tournament is a key component of preparation for the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance.

“We gave the players time to enjoy what they accomplished in Wheeling. They let out all that emotion,” Koenig said. “Now, it’s back to basics.”

Koenig said the Falcons will have to maintain that high level of team play if they hope to spring the upset on a Virginia State team that captured the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season and tournament titles.

The Trojans are led by two Warrensville High School products — senior forward Jahmere Howze (14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds) and senior guard Jalen Jackson 10.6 points).

The 6-foot-7 Howze was an All-CIAA first-team honoree.

NDC’s balanced attack features senior forward Will Vorhees (28.3 points, 11.3 rebounds), freshman point guard Larenz Thurman (17.5 points, 5.1 assists), freshman guard Isaiah Sanders (12.4 points) and junior forward Drew Scarberry (10.2 points).

Vorhees is the MEC’s Player of the Year and a Division II first-team AllAmerica hopeful.