The Notre Dame College Falcons (7-8-) and- the Alderson Broaddus Battlers (6-9) will battle on Saturday at Murphy Gym a as the two teams jockey for playoff positioning. The winner of Saturday's contest will secure the third seed in the MEC North, while the loser will fall to fourth in the North and host Wheeling in a play-in game Monday night. You can catch all the action of Saturday's approximately 4:30 PM tip time contest at MountainEast.TV, and live stats in real time at NotreDameFalcons.com
NDC Coach Mark Richmond talked about Saturday's game:
" It is a huge game and great opportunity for us against Alderson Broaddus. It has major implications on our MEC Tournament seeding, "Richmond explained.
NDC has won three straight. Last time out, they were a 84-76 winner over Frostburg State. Jordan Roland (21 points-) and- Jordan Burton (20) paced the Falcons. Mike Sampson tallied another double-double with 12 points- and- 16 rebounds. NDC shot 49 percent from the field- 38 percent (6-16) from the 3-point line- and- 84 percent from the free throw line (16-19) in the contest. NDC won the rebounding battle 33-26. Wednesday's game was the seventh straight game the Falcons have out rebounded the opposition. As a team the Falcons are +4.4 (37.3-32.9 rebounds per night-) which is good for third in the MEC. They are seventh in the conference scoring 79.5 points per game- while they are a MEC fourth best giving up 81.2 points per night. 3-point shooting has been a strength all season, as the Falcons remain second in the conference shooting at a 38 percent clip from the 3-point line.
Roland leads the season box score getting 17.5 points per night, and also leads the team in assists at just over three per night. The junior from Flint,Mich is third in the MEC playing 36 minutes per contest. Burton is netting 14.2 points per game- and- continues to be the MEC leader in 3-point percentage (53 percent.) He is also sixth in free throw shooting, shooting at a 86 percent clip from the line. Tyland Crawford is scoring 12.2 points per game- and- grabbing 5.8 rebounds per contest- while Sampson is scoring 11.3 points per night- to go along with a MEC third best 10.5 rebounds per contest. Sampson is leading the MEC in offensive rebounds at 3.5 per game.
In the first meeting between the two teams back on 2/10 the Falcons fell 77-65. Roland scored 15- Crawford had 11- and- a trio of players scored nine.
Richmond talked about what's ahead Saturday:
" We did not play our best game down there. I am anxious to see how our team responds in such a pivotal game. We will have to do a much better job of taking care of the ball, and getting great shots than we did the first time against them if we want to have a chance to win."
Roland agreed:
" We have to keep playing as a team on both sides of the court,"Roland mentioned.
The Battlers (6-9) have dropped four straight since that win against NDC back on 2/10. All four of the losses have been by one point, the most recent being a 80-79 loss to Davis & Elkins on Thursday. Zach Simpkins led the Battlers with 17 in the loss- Coryon Rice netted 16- and- both David Shriver- and- Josh Bradford chipped in 13. AB shot 45 percent from the field- 37 percent (11-30) from the 3-point line- and- 53 percent (10-19) from the free throw line in the defeat. As a team they are scoring an MEC sixth best 81.8 points per game- while defensively they are giving up a MEC ninth best 87.4 points per contest. The Battlers are third in the MEC shooting at a 37 percent clip from the 3-point line- while they are being out rebounded by 3.1 (35.8-38.9) boards per night. That mark is 10th in the conference.
Individually Gyasi Powell leads AB at 17 points per game- Christian Miller-Caldwell is scoring 15.3 per night-Shriver is putting up 15.1 points- a team leading six rebounds per night- and- is shooting a MEC seventh best 41 percent from the 3-point line- and- KJ Walker is scoring 13 per contest. Shriver knocked down seven 3-pointer's on his way to 27 points in the first meeting between these two teams- KJ Walker had 15- and- Tahliek Walker scored 10 that night.
Other MEC Games Saturday:
West Liberty @ Wheeling
Frostburg State @ Fairmont State
Charleston @ West Virginia State
Davis & Elkins @ West Virginia Wesleyan
Concord @ Glenville State
MEC North Standings:
West Liberty 12-3
Fairmont State 11-4
NDC 7-8
Alderson Broaddus 6-9
Wheeling 5-10
Frostburg State 4-11
MEC South:
Charleston 12-2
Glenville State 7-3
West Virginia State 9-5
Concord 8-6
Davis & Elkins 4-10
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-14
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