The Notre Dame College Falcons led from wire to wire on Saturday at the McDonough Center, but did not seal the 76-75 win until a pair of Wheeling shots did not fall in the waning seconds. NDC (5-8) was paced by five players in double figures in this one.
Tyland Crawford talked about the Falcons mindset late:
" We just needed one stop to win the game. That was our mindset. Wheeling took two tough ones and we were able to contest and secure the rebound to win," Crawford explained.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about his team finding a way late:
" Really proud of our guys. We played like we were desperate for a win today. We've been in close games several times on the road this year and didn't get the outcome we wanted. Today we found a way to win,"Richmond mentioned.
NDC scored the first five points of the contest on a Roland 3-pointer, and a Burton jumper. After a 3-pointer by Burton at the 14:03 mark it was 12-5 in favor of the Falcons. After the Cardinals cut the lead to three with eight minutes in the half Elijah Barnett converted a three-point play. NDC would build what would be the teams largest lead of the game, 10 points (33-23) after a Sampson jumper with 3:45 in the half. The Cardinals would battle back though, and the Falcons held a two point lead (35-33) heading into the locker room.
NDC was led in the opening half by 12 points- and- eight rebounds from Sampson. Burton and Roland each also had seven in the first 20 minutes for NDC. As a team the Falcons shot 48 percent from the field in the opening half- 25 percent (2-8) from the 3-point line- and- 50 percent (1-2) from the free throw line in the opening stanza.
Wheeling (3-9) was led by Jordan Reid with 12 points- and- Jay Gentry notched seven in the opening stanza. The Cardinals shot 45 percent from the field in the opening half- 14 percent (1-7) from the 3-point line- and- 44 percent (4-9) from the free throw line.
NDC came out hot in the second half. A pair of Crawford free throws- a 3-pointer by John Godinez- and- a Roland jumper would stretch the lead to nine (42-33) in the early stages of the second stanza. After a Crawford jumper at the 14:47 mark the lead remained at nine (49-40.) NDC would again go up by 10 (52-42) after another Barnett three-point play. After a Gentry 3-pointer at the 9:10 mark Wheeling was back within three (56-53.) After a pair of offensive rebounds Sampson would complete the three-point play in traffic to put NDC back up six with 8:36 to go. Sampson talked about that play:
" Wheeling started to go on a run, and we needed to get a stop and finish on the other end. I was able to get in position to get the offensive rebound and finish for the and one,"Sampson explained.
NDC would stretch the lead to 68-60 after a pair of Crawford free throws at the 6:02 mark. The Cardinals would again get to within three (70-67) after a Hines jumper at the 4:11 mark. The lead would still be three when Roland drove the lane for a layup at the 2:37 mark.
Roland talked about what he saw:
" I saw the crease and had the step on the defender, and it worked out for me, "Roland said.
Haines would hit a pair of free throws at the 1:21 mark, and it was again a one point game. NDC got a jumper by Barnett, but Haines would pull the Cardinals within one (76-75) with 47 seconds to go. NDC did not score, so the Cardinals would have the final shot ,and called time out with nine seconds on the clock. After the Haines jumper went halfway down and popped out, Gentry secured the offensive rebound and his jumper would not fall as NDC escaped with the 76-75 win.
NDC was led by Sampson who tied a season high with 19 points- and- also pulled down 14 rebounds. Roland added 15- Crawford tallied 13 points- and- eight rebounds while both Barnett and Burton contributed 12.
Richmond talked about Barnett and Sampson:
" I was really happy with Mike and Elijah. They finished some tough baskets around the rim."
As a team NDC shot 49 percent from the field- 36 percent (5-14) from the 3-point line-and- 87 percent (13-15) from the free throw line. The Falcons won the rebounding battle 37-30. They had 11 assists- and- 12 turnovers in the contest.
The Cardinals were led by 24 points from Gentry- while Reid scored 21- and- Haines tallied 10. As a team Wheeling shot 47 percent from the field- 29 percent (4-14) from the 3-point line- and- 74 percent (17-23) from the free throw line. They had seven assists- and- eight turnovers in the contest.
NDC will return home, and close the regular season with a three- game home stand before the MEC Tournament. The Falcons will face Fairmont State on Monday. Tip time is scheduled for 6 PM. The game is a makeup game from back on January 20th. You can catch all the action on the MountainEast.TV portal, and Live Stats at NotreDameFalcons.com
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
West Virginia State 104 West Virginia Wesleyan 92
West Liberty 128 Frostburg State 75
Charleston 86 Concord 65
Fairmont State 79 Alderson Broaddus 78
MEC North Standings:
Fairmont State 10-2
West Liberty 10-3
Alderson Broaddus 6-6
NDC 5-8
Frostburg State 3-9
Wheeling 3-9
MEC South:
Charleston 12-2
Glenville State 7-2
West Virginia State 7-5
Concord 7-6
Davis & Elkins 3-8
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-13
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