The Notre Dame College Falcons, and Alderson Broaddus Battlers battled inside of Murphy Gym on Saturday. NDC used a big day from junior Tyland Crawford, and came away with a 95-85 win. The win was the fourth straight for the Falcons, and secured the third seed in the MEC North for NDC.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about the win:
" I am really proud of the way our guys closed that game out. AB played really well, they had 20 assists, and shot the ball really well, but we found a way to win,"Richmond stated.
Crawford talked about his mindset from the jump:
" From the jump I just needed to be aggressive,"Crawford mentioned.
NDC came out of the gate quickly as they led 7-0 two minutes in. Jordan Burton made a jump shot- John Godinez knocked down a 3-pointer- and- Jordan Roland made it 7-0. The Battlers battled in the first half, and got to within three (23-20) after a Coryon Rice 3-pointer with 11:01 in the first half. The game was knotted at 26 with 9:48 in the opening half, when the Falcons went on a 9-0 run capped by an Elijah Barnett three-point play two minutes later. NDC would take a 48-43 lead into the locker room.
The Falcons were paced by Roland with 13- and- Burton with 10 in the opening stanza. They shot 51 percent as a team in the first 20 minutes. They led on the glass 18-13, while they had seven assists- and- just one turnover in the half. They also made all four free throw attempts in the half.
The Battlers were paced by Rice with 11 in the first half- while Christian Miller-Caldwell had nine in the opening stanza. AB shot 53 percent from the field- and- 50 percent (7-14) from the 3-point line in the half. They shot 80 percent (4-5) at the free throw line in the half.
The second half began with the Falcons stretching the lead to double digits (55-45) after a pair of John Godinez jumpers. The Battlers would tie the game at 63 after a David Shriver 3-pointer at the 12:46 mark. Javontae Jones would score the next four for NDC, before a Battlers hoop. Crawford would then drive the lane for a dunk. He would talk about that play:
" It just opened up, and I rose up, and dunked it."
The lead would change hands on three different occasions, before Burton made a layup, and then Crawford would hit three consecutive 3-pointer's to make it 86-76 NDC.
Crawford talked about the little run:
"I was feeling good out there, and my teammates found me."
The Battlers got to within five (86-81) but that is as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Richmond talked about Crawford:
"Tyland obviously hit some big shots down the stretch. That is the guy that we recruited, and the guy we need him to be. I am proud of the way he played, especially defensively."
NDC was paced by Crawford with 27 points- Roland had 19- Burton scored 18- and- Mike Sampson added 14 points- and- eight rebounds. The Falcons shot 51 percent as a team- 50 percent (9-18) from the 3-point line- and- 86 percent (6-7) from the free throw line. The Falcons had 13 assists- and- four turnovers in the contest.
Crawford talked about that:
"That was a new record for the season tonight. Coach has been harping on us to share the ball, and not turn it over. That was the case tonight. Not only that, but to take really good shots which we have been doing."
Jordan Roland gave his thoughts after the contest:
"We played together on offense, and got key stops at the right time,"Roland explained.
Richmond agreed:
" We got stops late, and that was the difference in the game."
Richmond talked about the teams advantages in the paint (58-30-) and- second chance points (21-6:)
" That has become our identity. We have gotten good angles, entered the ball in the paint, and attacked."
The Battlers were paced by Zach Simpkins with 18- Miller-Caldwell added 16- Shriver tallied 15- and- Rice netted 13. As a team AB shot 53 percent from the field- 52 percent (14-27) from the 3-point line- and- 82 percent (9-11) from the free throw line. They had 20 assists- and- nine turnovers.
Crawford talked after the game for NDC about the gold uniforms they have been wearing during this win streak, and if it is a superstition:
" We were iffy at first. The first time we wore the gold was against Charleston, and we did not play well. We were iffy to wear them again, but they have been good luck lately."
NDC will take on Glenville State in the opening round of the MEC Tournament at 11 AM on Friday at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.
Crawford talked about the teams mindset going into the tournament:
" It is huge to get a break this week coming up. We will take that time to let our bodies heal. We have been playing a lot of games recently. We are feeling good though. We feel like we can beat anyone."
Richmond agreed:
"We feel great about our team going into the tournament. We like where we are. We are thankful for the time off, and not having to play in that play-in game on Monday."
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
West Liberty 107 Wheeling 88
Charleston 96 West Virginia State 83
Glenville State 100 Concord 81
Fairmont State 109 Frostburg State 85
Final MEC North Standings:
West Liberty 13-3
Fairmont State 12-4
NDC 8-8
Alderson Broaddus 6-10
Wheeling 5-11
Frostburg State 4-12
Final MEC South Standings:
Charleston 13-2
Glenville State 8-3
West Virginia State 9-6
Concord 8-7
Davis & Elkins 4-10
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-14
MEC Tournament Opening Round Monday:
Wheeling @ Alderson Broaddus 7 PM
Davis & Elkins @ Concord 7 PM
Friday MEC Quarterfinals: (At WesBanco Arena in Wheeling:)
Glenville State vs NDC 11 AM
West Liberty vs Davis & Elkins/Concord winner 2 PM
Charleston vs Wheeling/Alderson Broaddus winner 5 PM
Fairmont State vs West Virginia State 8 PM
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