The Notre Dame College Falcons and the Frostburg State Bobcats did battle inside Bobcat Arena on Saturday. NDC would use another stellar defensive effort to come out on top 74-63 and secure the teams fifth consecutive win.
NDC head coach Mark Richmond was pleased afterwords:
"When we defend like that we will give ourselves a chance to win no matter who or where we are playing,"Richmond mentioned. "I was extremely proud of our defensive effort today. Frostburg is a very talented team that can score the ball."
To Richmond's point NDC held the Bobcats to 38 percent shooting from the field as well as 32 percent (8-25) from the 3-point line.
Junior Mike Sampson talked about the team's defense:
"Just being the aggressor is key, being in attack mode at all times, "Sampson stated.
NDC improved to 15-9 and 12-6 in the MEC with the victory. Frostburg State fell to 6-18 and 4-14 in the MEC after the loss.
Tyland Crawford agreed:
"If we can lock down defensively it is going to put us in a great position to win games, "Crawford explained.
The game would get off to a slow start offensively for both teams. It would be 3-2 NDC as the team had not made a field goal in the games first three minutes. A Sampson layup gave NDC a 7-4 lead but the Bobcats would run off the games next 10 points. Canaan Bartley would cap off the run with a tomahawk jam that made it 14-7 with 13:33 in the opening stanza. Bartley scored eight of the 10 points on that run. NDC got to within one (18-17) after a Jeadon Willis hoop at the 8:44 mark of the first half. A 3-pointer by Tyland Crawford would again pull NDC to within one (24-23) at the 4:25 mark of the half. Sampson would hit a pair of free throws for the Falcons that knotted the game at 26 with 2:22 in the half but Edwards would put the Bobcats back in front. Junior Sam Jackson would score the last four points of the half for NDC as they took a 30-28 lead into the locker room. NDC shot 38 percent in the opening stanza, 17 percent (2-12) from the 3-point line and 75 percent (6-8) from the free throw line. The Falcons were led by Sampson with nine points in the opening half while Crawford added five.
The Bobcats were paced by Barltey with 10 in the first 20 minutes, Edwards added six. As a team they shot 39 percent in the opening half, 36 percent (4-11) from the 3-point line and made both free throws they attempted.
NDC picked up right where they left off at the end of the first half Willis would score six out of the first seven points, Sampson would slam it home to extend the NDC lead to nine (38-29) with 16:52 to go. After a Frostburg basket Jamaar Talbert would knock down a triple and NDC had a 41-31 advantage. Frosburg would go on a 7-0 run capped by a Juston Bailey 3-ball at the 13:55 mark. Sampson would then go to work as he scored six of the games next eight points. The Falcons led 50-45 halfway through the second stanza. After Willis made his only 3-pointer of the game at the 8:07 mark NDC led by nine (54-45.) The Bobcats would not go quietly as they would score the next six points to make it a 54-51 game when Talbert hit his second triple of the contest at the 6:01 mark. Another Sampson layup and a jumper by John Godinez extended the Falcons lead back to 10 (61-51) with 4:24 to go. The lead would stay in double digits until a 3-pointer by Edwards cut the lead to nine (70-61) with 31 seconds on the clock. NDC would ultimately come away with the 74-63 win and the season sweep of the Bobcats.
NDC was paced by Willis who scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. The junior from Baltimore was 6-12 from the field, 1-7 from the 3-point line, and 8-9 at the free throw line in the contest. He also dished out a team heigh eight assists. Sampson was an efficient eight of 10 from the field and went 3-4 from the free throw line to score 19 points to go along with eight rebounds. For the second straight game Daylin Lee scored in double digits off the bench as he tallied 10. Crawford had a team high 10 rebounds. NDC shot 46 percent on the day, 23 percent (5-22) from the 3-point line and 68 percent 17-25) from the free throw line. The Falcons won the rebounding battle 33-28. They also were +10 on fast break points (18-8) and in the paint (36-26.) They had 13 assists and 11 turnovers in this one.
The Bobcats were paced by Edwards with 20, while Barltey tallied 18 to go along with 10 rebounds. They shot 38 percent from the field, 32 percent (8-25) from the 3-point line and 75 percent (9-12) at the free throw line. They had 13 assists and 14 turnovers as a team.
Crawford talked more about the win:
"Defense is something that we preach before every game. There's days when we are going to miss shots but as long as our defense is scrappy then we'll always have a chance."
Richmond gave his final thoughts:
"Offensively we didn't shoot great from the perimeter but we were able to convert around the rim and in transition."
NDC will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to play the University of Charleston. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM.
Other MEC scores Saturday:
Fairmont State 80 Alderson Broaddus 76
West Liberty 107 Concord 86
Charleston 80 Davis & Elkins 71
West Virginia State 93 West Virginia Wesleyan 86
Glenville State 96 Wheeling 90
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 16-2 (22-2)
Fairmont State 14-4 (19-4)
Charleston 14-4 (19-5)
West Virginia State 13-4 (18-6)
NDC 12-6 (15-9)
Alderson Broaddus 8-10 (11-11)
Concord 8-10 (10-13)
Wheeling 7-11 (8-16)
Glenville State 6-11 (9-12)
Davis & Elkins 4-14 (6-18)
Frostburg State 4-14 (6-18)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-17 (2-22)
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