All five Notre Dame College Falcons starters scored in double figures Saturday- and- after Dale Bonner of Fairmont State missed a pair of free throws with two seconds left the Notre Dame College Falcons walked out of Murphy Gym with a 85-83 win. NDC improved to 4-10 and 2-6 in the MEC with the victory. After the defeat Fairmont State fell to 10-3 and 5-3 in the MEC.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about it being a group effort to get this win:
" It was one of the few games this year where we had the same lineup as the game before. We really competed tonight. It was a really emotional game- we were tuned up more than normal for this one. As I have been saying since day one this is who we have to be. We don't have a guy who is going to go out and get us 30 points. We have such a slim margin for error- but tonight every single guy contributed- and- took part in this victory."Richmond said.
NDC was paced by Drew Scarberry who scored 23 points-and- grabbed eight rebounds. It is the sixth straight game that the senior has scored in double figures. Jordan Burton added 17- DeAnthony Owens tallied 14- while both Bruce Hodges- and- Levi Frankland scored 13.
First Richmond talked about Hodges who added seven rebounds- four assists- and- a pair of steals in this one:
" Not a category on the stat sheet can do justice for what Bruce means to this team. He just has some of those intangibles- he has great timing- and- just makes some heady plays when you need them most. A couple of plays he made late were the difference in the game. Bruce just played really well."
Richmond also talked about what Owens brings:
"DeAnthony gives us an athletic presence on the wing. He struggled on Wednesday against a team that pressured us some more but he learned from that-and- I really thought he played much better today- and- was under control. They had some trouble guarding him today."
Richmond talked about the toughness Larenz Thurman showed today:
" Larenz had a big basket down the stretch. He obviously was not able to go like he did the other night. For lack of a better term we have to do some load management with him."
NDC shot 54 percent as a team in the contest- 40 percent (8-20) from the 3-point line- and- 72 percent (13-18) from the free throw line. The Falcons won the rebounding battle 39-29. They had 16 assists- and- 15 turnovers as a team.
Fairmont was led by Dale Bonner with 22 points- Kenzie Melko added 18- Cole Von Handorf scored 16- and- Isaiah Sanders tallied 10. As a team the Fighting Falcons shot 46 percent from the field- 35 percent (10-29) from the 3-point line- and- 62 percent (13-21) from the free throw line. Fairmont had 19 assists- and- eight turnovers in the losing effort.
NDC would score the first four points to begin the contest in a game that would feature eight ties and 10 lead changes. The game would be knotted at 13 after a Scarberry 3-pointer at the 13 minute mark of the opening half. Scarberry would hit another 3-pointer at the 9:31 mark- and- NDC held a 19-15 lead. The next seven points would go to Fairmont State but NDC would take the lead back on a Daniel Lott 3-pointer at the 7:09 mark of the opening half. The game would again be tied at 33 before Owens nailed a 3-ball at the 1:40 mark of the opening stanza. The Fighting Falcons would score the last seven points of the half- and- it would be 40-36 in favor of Fairmont at the break.
NDC was led by Scarberry with 10 in the opening half- while they got nine from Burton. The Falcons shot 50 percent as a team- 55 percent (6-11) from the 3-point line- and- were a perfect four of four at the free throw line. NDC led on the glass 20-16 at the intermission. They had six assists- and- 10 turnovers in the half.
Fairmont was led by Bonner with 14- while Sanders netted six. They shot 43 percent in the half- 27 percent (4-15) from the 3-point line-and- 57 percent (4-7) from the free throw line. They had nine assists- and- did not have a turnover in the opening half.
Richmond talked about how scary the stat sheet looked in the first half but how at the same time it gave his team confidence:
" It was a scary halftime stat sheet. What gave us the confidence was that we were down just four- and- we had 10 turnovers to there none. They shot 11 more field goals than we did in the half. We just needed to fix some rebounding things- and- I thought we could get it done."
Von Handorf hit a 3-ball to put Fairmont up seven before NDC went on a run of their own. The game would again be tied at 45 after Owens converted a layup at the 16:48 mark. The Falcons went back on top 51-47 as Burton and Scarberry scored on run-outs. Scarberry would hit a 3-pointer at the 9:28 mark- and- the game was tied at 60. After falling behind by two NDC would go on a 7-0 run as Scarberry hit a 3-pointer- Owens converted a bucket- and- Burton made it 67-62 at the 6:13 mark. At the 3:39 mark Frankland would give NDC a 75-69 lead after a 3-pointer of his own. Then a dunk by Owens on a pass from Hodges made it 77-69 with 3:16 to go. After Frankland made a pair of free throws with 52 seconds remaining it was 81-75 in favor of NDC. Sanders scored on a tip in for Fairmont but Scarberry stretched the lead to 83-77 with two free throws at the 41 seconds mark after a Hodges offensive rebound. Melko scored for Fairmont- then Owens split a pair of free throws. Melko cut the lead to 84-82 after a conventional three-point play with 25 ticks remaining. Bonner would split a pair of free throws to make it 84-83 with 24 seconds left. Scarberry would then split a pair and the lead was two. With 14 seconds left Scarberry was fouled and missed both. With two seconds left after Bonner got to the lane he was fouled but he missed both free throws and NDC got the win.
Richmond talked about how this team found a way to win this one:
" We have found all kind of ways to lose games this year but we were right there- and- we showed the composure down the stretch to close it out."
Richmond continued talking about the 1-3-1 helping them secure the win:
" The 1-3-1 was good to us tonight. It took them out of rhythm and we got some big steals out of it. We got some huge turnovers and run outs in this one."
Hodges talked about the win:
" It was a great team win! We fought and we played 40 minutes. It was a well needed win."Hodges mentioned.
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
West Virginia State 85 West Virginia Wesleyan 84
West Liberty 129 Glenville State 89
Urbana 72 Frostburg State 55
Wheeling 74 Concord 71
Charleston 91 Davis & Elkins 57
MEC Standings:
Charleston 6-2 (12-2)
West Liberty 6-2 (11-3)
Fairmont State 5-3 (10-3)
West Virginia State 5-3 (10-3)
Wheeling 5-3 (8-4)
Glenville State 5-3 (8-6)
West Virginia Wesleyan 4-4 (5-9)
Frostburg State 3-5 (6-8)
Urbana 3-5 (4-10)
Concord 2-6 (4-9)
Davis & Elkins 2-6 (4-10)
NDC 2-6 (4-10)
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