A pair of young, vibrant college basketball coaches with East Side ties are meeting close to their childhood homes when Division II Notre Dame College hosts Fairmont State (W.Va.) on Feb. 25 at Murphy Gym in South Euclid.

The Falcons are coached by University and Case Western Reserve graduate Tim Koenig. The Fighting Falcons are coached by Villa Angela-St. Joseph graduate and former Cleveland State player Jerrod Calhoun.

Koenig and Calhoun are in the early stages of their head coaching careers.

This marks Koenig's first season as NDC's head coach. The Falcons are 9-17 overall and 7-13 in Mountain East play. They stunned then-No. 1 West Liberty, 89-87, on Jan. 30.

Calhoun, who worked under Bob Huggins at West Virginia, is in his second season as Fairmont State's head coach. The Fighting Falcons went 23-9 and reached the NCAA Division II Tournament last season. This year's team is 17-9 overall and 12-8 in the Mountain East.

NDC and Fairmont State met on Feb 8 in Fairmont, W.Va., with the Fighting Falcons prevailing, 78-74.

Koenig has three players from area high schools on his first roster: guard Patrick Koenig (Unversity), forward Connor Deckard (Gilmour) and freshman guard Aurimas Morkunas (Mayfield). Former Richmond Heights standout Tommy Scales is a forward at Fairmont State.

-- Guy Cipriano | @newsheraldguy