For six years head Coach Tim Koenig roamed the sidelines as the head coach of the Notre Dame College Falcons- along with assistant coach Tim Baab (John Wakelin was also a NDC coach for part of that time-) on Saturday for the first time since taking the job at Fairmont State in July Koenig will return as the visiting team's coach.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about the challenge ahead for the current squad:
" This is a tough league- and- it will stay that way going into this one tomorrow. We are just trying to get better- and- find a way to close these games out. We are excited to be back at home tomorrow though. First game since the christmas break- expect a great crowd and atmosphere- and- we are looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow.Richmond said.
NDC (3-10 1-6 MEC) is coming off a tough 72-69 loss at Frostburg State on Wednesday night. DeAnthony Owens had his first double-double as a member of the Falcons as he scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Drew Scarberry added 12 points- and- six rebounds- while Larenz Thurman came off the bench to tally 10. NDC shot 41 percent as a team-22 percent (6-27) from the 3-point line- and- 71 percent (15-21) at the free throw line. NDC won the rebounding battle 41-36. As a team the Falcons are scoring a MEC eighth best 78.8 points per game- while they are allowing a league sixth best 80.7 points per contest. Powered by having an advantage in each of the last five games on the glass NDC is now +1.5 on the boards (37.7-36.2.)
Levi Frankland paces the Falcons season box score as he scores a MEC eighth best 17.3 points per night. The sophomore from Australia is coming off a rare game in which he was held to just nine points in the loss to Frostburg. Frankland also is pulling down 5.5 rebounds per night. Frankland has been the most prolific 3-pointer shooter for NDC- and- is second in the MEC shooting 43 percent from the 3-point line. This to go along with shooting at a 52 percent clip from the field is why he is one of the best scorers in the conference. DeAnthony Owens is coming off his first double-double as a member of NDC. The senior transfer from Edinboro is scoring 16.9 points per game since his return from injury- and- is leading the Falcons grabbing 6.6 rebounds per night. Drew Scarberry saw his streak of four consecutive games of scoring 20 or more points snapped on Wednesday- but by netting 12 points in the contest the senior has now scored in double figures in five straight games. Scarberry is scoring 14.3 points per night- to go along with hauling in 5.5 rebounds per contest. Larenz Thurman rounds out the players averaging in double figures as he is putting up 13.0 points per game- the senior from Wilmington, Delaware is sixth in the MEC dishing out 3.8 assists per contest. Thurman- and- Jordan Burton are 12th and 13th respectively in the MEC in assist to turnover ratio. One key to the game on Saturday for the Falcons could be to keep it close as Fairmont State is third in the MEC in scoring margin having outscored the opponent by 10.1 points per night.
Richmond talked about how these numbers are skewed by one game:
"The numbers are skewed by the Carlow game when Fairmont won by 75. Most of there league games have come down to the wire."Richmond added.
Richmond also talked about how it is nice to have some guys back but it will take a little bit of time to knock the rust off:
"It was nice to get Larenz- and- Sala back last game for sure. They both did have to knock some rust off though. It was Larenz's first game in a couple of weeks so it was good to have him back- but he was rusty for sure. Same with Sala "Richmond mentioned.
Scarberry talked about the key being what it has been for much of the season:
" It's the same thing for us every game I feel like. We have a great game plan for the game. Now it just comes down to us going out- and- executing it in the game. Putting together a full 40 minutes of playing harder than the other team and I feel like that will always give us a great chance to win the game."Scarberry stated.
Bruce Hodges agreed:
" We just got to play harder than the other team for a full 40 minutes, at this point the opponent is secondary to that. At the end of the day the goal is to go 1-0 on the day."Hodges mentioned.
Fairmont State (10-2 5-2 MEC) is coming off a back and forth affair that resulted in a 81-78 win after Dale Bonner drained a shot from half court at the buzzer. Bonner scored 20 points in the contest- Kenzie Melko added 18- and- Cole Von Handorf netted 15. The Fighting Falcons shot 50 percent as a team- 38 percent (8-21) from the 3-point line- and- shot at a 72 percent clip (13-18) from the free throw line. Fairmont is scoring a league fourth best 88.5 points per game- while on defense they are allowing a MEC fifth best 78.4 points per night. The Fighting Falcons have been out rebounded by 1.1 boards per night (35.5-36.6.)
Koenig talked about how any team can beat anyone in this league:
"This league has been a tough league all season long. Any team can beat anyone on any given night. For instance Salem beat Glenville who was at the top of the league at the time and then Salem lost by double digits to NDC who is at the bottom of the league."
Koenig compared this game to playing your little brother in the back yard:
"Having been a part of NDC for so long do I root for guys sure I do. But at the end of the day when you play your little brother in the back yard you want to win. It is the same here as I want NDC to win when we are not playing them- but- want to win those two games we play them during the season."
Bonner leads the Fighting Falcons on the season putting up a league third best 18.8 points per game- while he is dishing out 6.3 assists per night. Von Handorf puts up 18.3 per contest- while Kenzie Melko-Marshall is also averaging in double figures by putting up 15.3 points per contest.
Other MEC Games Saturday:
Frostburg State@ Urbana
Concord @ Wheeling
Glenville State @ West Liberty
Charleston @ Davis & Elkins
West Virginia State @ West Virginia Wesleyan
MEC Standings:
Charleston 5-2 (11-2)
West Liberty 5-2 (10-3)
Fairmont State 5-2 (10-2)
Glenville State 5-2 (8-5)
West Virginia State 4-3 (9-3)
Wheeling 4-3 (7-4)
West Virginia Wesleyan 4-3 (5-8)
Frostburg State 3-4 (6-7)
Urbana 2-5 (3-10)
Concord 2-5 (4-8)
Davis &Elkins 2-5 (4-9)
NDC 1-6 (3-10)
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