The Notre Dame College Falcons and West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats did battle on Saturday at Rockefeller Gym. It would be the visitors from South Euclid that would come away with a 85-68 win.
Coach Tim Koenig talked about it:
" What a great win today. Playing against this team at a very tough place to play. We got contributions from up and down the roster. After the first 3-5 minutes we did a really good job against their zone. That zone they play is really tough to play against. We did a good job of finding the seams- we screened well- ball faked into a pass- we had good spacing- cut well- and- of course part of getting the assists is you have to make the shot." Koenig said.
NDC (18-6 14-4 MEC) was led by Will Vorhees with 32 points. It would be the sixth straight game that the redshirt senior has scored 30 points or more. Isaiah Sanders also tallied a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds- Drew Scarberry knocked down five 3-pointer's on his way to 16 points- while Larenz Thurman netted 13 points and dished out nine assists. Bruce Hodges was all over the place for NDC Saturday as despite scoring just three points- he added 11 assists- 10 rebounds- and- five steals.
Koenig talked about Hodges playing thru an injury:
"Bruce is one tough SOB. If he is not the definition of a glue guy- I do not know what is. He guards the best player on the other team every game- he makes all the hustle plays-and- that permeates thru the team."
Sanders sparked the offense on the glass and with his execution:
"Isaiah did not rebound and play defense like we wanted the first 3-5 minutes of the game but he gave us a huge spark the rest of the way. He had three layups off of baseline out of bounds which was really impressive."
Scarberry gave us a lift as well:
" At the beginning of the game he did not shoot it well as he went one for his first four. He had a couple defensive lapses at the beginning. When you are not making shots you have to rebound and play defense better. He did that much better after that- and- low and behold the basketball gods were in his favor and the ball went in the whole.
As for Thurman and Vorhees here were the thoughts of Koenig:
" We trust Will and Renz to make the right decisions. Everything on our team starts with those two. Will did not get as many boards today- he has been cleaning the glass like crazy of late but his teammates helped him out on the glass today. Larenz had a good game as well- but the ball was not in he and Will's hands as much. Bruce handled the ball a lot today. It was nice to see all around."
NDC shot 49 percent from the field- 44 percent (10-23) from the 3-point line- and- 90 percent (9-10) at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 46-24. The Falcons had 26 assists and 10 turnovers.
The Bobcats (10-14 7-11 MEC) were led by Daylin Lee with 17 points. Luka Petrovic had 15 points and nine assists- Fred Brondstedt added 13- and- Clay Todd scored 12. They shot 43 percent from the field- 30 percent (10-33) from the 3-point line- and- 73 percent (8-11) at the free throw line. They had 17 assists and eight turnovers as a team.
The Falcons would never trail in this one. They would lead 16-7 after a Vorhees bucket at the 12:50 mark of the opening half. Midway thru the opening half the Falcons would have a 18-10 advantage. The lead would be cut to two (20-18) before Vorhees would score another basket. It would be a one point game (22-21) when NDC would go on a 9-0 run as Thurman would hit a deep 3-ball- and- another Vorhees basket would make it a 10 point game. Hodges would hit a 3-pointer right before halftime to make it 36-24 NDC heading into the locker room.
Vorhees led NDC with 18 in the opening half- while Sanders added five. NDC shot 52 percent as a team- 40 percent (4-10) from the 3-point line- and- made both free throw attempts in the opening half. The Falcons had 10 assists and seven turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Bobcats were led by Todd and Vicentic with six each in the opening half. They shot 33 percent from the floor- 24 percent (4-17) from the 3-point line- and- 67 percent (2-3) at the free throw line. They had six assists and six turnovers in the half.
NDC would quickly stretch the lead to 20 (49-29) after a Thurman 3-ball with 16:08 to go. After a Scarberry 3-pointer and a free throw by Scarberry after a technical foul NDC would lead by 22 (55-33) with 14:11 to go. Wesleyan would pull to within eight (60-52) after a Lee layup at the 9:36 mark. Scarberry would then knock down another 3-pointer. Thurman would hit two free throws-and then Scarberry would trade 3-ball's with Lee. Sanders would score the next five points and put the Falcons firmly in control. Wesleyan would not get any closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Thurman talked about attacking the zone:
"We knew we were going to get open shots in that zone. Once the ball got in the middle- the entire defense broke down- and- we were able to get open shots."
Scarberry talked about breaking out of his shooting slump:
" It has been a little rough for me shooting lately. But my teammates have kept their confidence in me throughout my slump. We were able to find the gaps in their zone tonight- and- we were able to find the open man."
The Falcons win coupled with the loss by Fairmont State Saturday puts them in a second place tie in the MEC.
The Falcons will be back in action Thursday- as they will head back home to take on Concord . Tip time is set for 7:30 PM and you can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
Glenville State 100 Urbana 97 (2 OT)
Wheeling Jesuit 91 West Virginia State 81
Concord 91 Fairmont State 80
Charleston 88 West Liberty 87 (OT)
Shepherd 84 Virginia Wise 77
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 16-2 (20-3)
NDC 14-4 (18-6)
Fairmont State 14-4 (17-7)
Charleston 12-6 (17-7)
Concord 11-7 (16-8)
West Virginia State 9-9 (12-12)
Shepherd 8-10 (12-12)
West Virginia Wesleyan 7-11 (10-14)
Glenville State 5-13 (10-14)
Wheeling Jesuit 5-13 (6-18)
Virginia Wise 4-14 (7-17)
Urbana 3-15 (5-17)
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