For the second consecutive season the Notre Dame College Falcons and Slippery Rock squared off to begin the season in the Joe Retton Classic at Fairmont State University and for the second straight season the game came down to the final buzzer. This time it was "The Rock" who got a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win it 78-76 after Larenz Thurman had give NDC the lead with four seconds to go on a pair of free throws. Last season it was the Falcons who got the late win with a Will Vorhees jumper with three seconds to go.
NDC Coach Mark Richmond talked about how proud he was of his team despite the loss:
" I was really proud of our effort tonight. It was more of a PSAC style game, so we had to mix up our defenses, mix in some zone and things like that since they dictated the tempo much of the way. It took a great shot to beat us and sometimes that is just how it goes. We did not play many guys as we have a few guys that are out so we kind of had to adjust on the fly."Richmond said.
NDC (0-1) was led by Levi Frankland who scored a career high 26 points in his first game since the 2017-18 season. Thurman added 14- Bruce Hodges scored 13- and- Drew Scarberry added 11 points- 11 rebounds- and- seven assists in the loss.
NDC shot 45 percent as a team- 32 percent (8-25) from the 3-point line- and- 88 percent (14-16) at the free throw line. The Falcons had 14 assists and nine turnovers as a team.
Slippery Rock (1-0) was led by Will Robinson who tallied a double-double with 25 points and 17 rebounds- Jared Armstrong added 20 including the game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer- and- Donovan Walker had 12. "The Rock" shot 48 percent from the field and 30 percent (6-20) from the 3-point line. They shot at a 67 percent clip (12-18) at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 35-34.
Hodges was not happy about the rebounding tonight though:
" We gotta do better rebounding."
The game began with NDC scoring the first four points and at the first media time out of the first half Slippery Rock led 11-9. A little more than halfway thru the first half NDC would take a 18-17 lead as Frankland would knock down a 3-pointer. The two teams would be knotted at 26 with 4:20 to go in the opening stanza. "The Rock" would take a 32-31 lead into the locker room as NDC would get an old fashion three-point play by Hodges to trim the lead.
Frankland would have 12 points to lead NDC in the opening half- while Hodges had seven. They would get six rebounds and six points from Dae John Walker-Bey as well. Drew Scarberry added five assists in the opening half. NDC shot 35 percent from the field and 23 percent (3-15) from the 3-point line in the opening stanza.
Slippery Rock was led by Will Robinson with 12 points and seven rebounds- while Armstrong had nine in the opening half. "The Rock" shot 40 percent from the field and nine percent (1-11) from the 3-point line in the half.
Scarberry knocked down a 3-pointer to give NDC the lead to begin the second half. Slippery Rock would take the lead back and would ultimately stretch it to as many as 10 (63-53-) but the Falcons didn't go quietly. A trio of three-pointers (Scarberry- Frankland- and- Thurman) would spark a 9-0 NDC run that made it 65-64 with 6:18 to go. "The Rock" would lead by as many as five but once again NDC came storming back. After a Thurman 3-pointer with 1:10 to go NDC had the lead 72-71. That would set up a wild final 70 seconds in this one. Will Bounds gave "The Rock" the lead but a Hodges jumper would give the lead right back to the Falcons with 38 seconds left. Robinson would hit a pair of free throws to give Slippery Rock a one point lead again. Then the Falcons would get a pair of Thurman free throws with just four ticks remaining to give them a 76-75 lead. At this point it looked like the Falcons might get a late second win for the second straight year, but then the tables turned. Armstrong knocked down the 3 as the buzzer sounded and "The Rock" had the victory.
Richmond talked about the offensive execution:
"As a whole for game one I thought our execution was pretty good. We got bogged down a few times when we dribbled to much, but as a whole we are good when we move the ball."
Thurman put the game in perspective:
" We fought tonight. It was a tough loss but it's nothing to hang our heads over. Time to put that game behind us and get ready for Millersville.
Hodges agreed:
" It was a hard fought game. I am happy we stayed together thru the tough times. Now we gotta put it behind us."
Scarberry talked about what this game could mean for the rest of the season:
" We came out and showed people tonight we are gonna battle from start to finish. I know we didn't get the win but I think people are going to have a different view of us from here on out. We will recover from tonight, take away the positives, regroup, and come back to ready to go tomorrow."
Frankland talked about what this could mean as well:
" Sky's the limit for us. Gotta continue to build on this, and use it as fuel."
Richmond looked ahead to tomorrow:
"The one negative to playing so few guys is we have to come back and play again tomorrow. Millersville is a different style and they will try and get up and down more. We will need a collective effort from everyone."
The Falcons and Millersville will tip at 4 PM tomorrow. The Marauders were a 87-85 loser to Fairmont State in the opener tonight. You can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com
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