The Notre Dame College Falcons (8-6 5-4 MEC) went toe to toe with the 17th ranked West Virginia State Yellow Jackets (14-1 8-1 MEC) but came up short 88-82 inside Murphy Gym.
NDC head coach Mark Richmond did not mince words after the game:
"I feel like we kind of let one slip away today, "Richmond mentioned. "We weren't able to seize the opportunity. Down the stretch we gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Second chance points and fast break points were the difference. When you give up second, third, and fourth opportunities it makes it hard to win."
"We had the game in our hands, "Tyland Crawford stated. "We gave a good effort but must improve on the boards."
NDC led 8-6 at the first media timeout of the game after an Andre Harris basket. Jaedon Willis scored six of the first eight Falcons points. After a Tyland Crawford 3-pointer at the 12:21 mark NDC held a 15-8 advantage.
DeAirius Barker hit a 3-pointer at the 8:38 mark of the first half and NDC led 25-21. After a 7-0 WVSU run a Kaleb Torrence triple would knot the game at 28 with 6:54 in the opening half. Barker went on a personal 5-0 run and NDC was on top 33-28. After two Harris free throws NDC was on top 35-30. The next eight points would go to WVSU. The game would be knotted at 38 as each team headed to the locker room.
Barker led the way with 13 in the opening stanza, Willis had 11, and Harris tallied six points to go with 10 rebounds. The Falcons shot 39.4 percent in the opening half, 7-19 from the 3-point line and 6-7 at the free throw line.
The Yellow Jackets were led by Bulky Brown with 10 while Pittman tallied eight. They shot 39.5 percent from the field, 2-12 from the 3-point line, and 5-6 at the free throw line.
After a Jones free throws Willis tied the game at 40 with a hoop. The Falcons would lead by five (47-42) after three Willis free throws with 18:06 on the clock. After a Jamarr Talbert triple NDC held a six point edge (50-44.) After a Jordan 3-pointer Willis countered with one of his own to make it a six point NDC lead once again. Willis made two free throws at the 14:54 mark and it was 57-49 NDC.
"We got stops and kind of got into a rhythm during that stretch."
After Obinna Ugwuakazi made a layup it was again NDC up by eight (59-51.) WVSU would then go on a 8-0 spurt and a Jordan 3-pointer tied the game at 59 with 12:27 to go.
"There was about a four minute stretch there that was detrimental. It's a 40 minute game and you can't have let downs like that and beat good teams."
Harris and Barker scored to put NDC up 63-59 but WVSU would score the next six to go back on top. A triple by Willis at the 8:36 mark gave NDC the lead but that would be short-lived. Samier Kinsler would hit a layup and 3-pointer, then Brown made a layup to give the Yellow Jackets a six point edge. NDC would get to within two (76-74) as Harris would make a layup and get fouled at the 4:42 mark. He could not convert the free throw and at the other end Horton hit a triple. WVSU stretched the lead to seven (81-74) after Pittman knocked down a free throw with 1:48 to go. The Falcons would get to within three (81-78) after Crawford hit two free throws 27 seconds later. Pittman and Kinsler would hit free throws down the stretch and the Yellow Jackets would get the 88-82 win.
NDC was paced by Willis who scored 28 points on the night as he also grabbed seven rebounds. Harris added 16 points and secured 17 rebounds which was a season high and the most in an NDC game since 2019.
Richmond talked about Harris:
"Andre is a guy who can play inside-out. Kind of knew this was going to be a big game rebounding for him. He stepped up tonight and the numbers showed that. He gave us a chance. He went and got it off the glass and scored close. He is a guy we will rely on heavily the rest of the way and we know he is capable of doing that."
Barker and Crawford scored 15 and 11 points respectively off the bench.
As a team NDC shot 42 percent from the field, 38.5 percent (10-26) from the 3-point line, and 87.5 percent (14-16) at the free throw line. They had 12 assists and 15 turnovers in the contest.
WVSU had five players tally double figures. Pittman led the way with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Horton added 16, Brown netted 12, Jordan scored 11, and Kinsler notched 10. They shot 43.1 percent as a team, 26.1 percent (6-23) from the 3-point line, and 71.4 percent (20-28) from the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets won the rebounding battle 44-41. They had 17 assists and 10 turnovers in the contest. They had 22 second chance points and 22 fast break points while the Falcons had 12 second chance points and 11 fast break points.
Crawford gave the final thoughts:
"Our defense was solid tonight but we couldn't secure rebounds in those important moments. Offensively, we just have to keep sharing it because we can get anything we want against anyone. Gotta turn the page and get ready for Charleston."
NDC will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Charleston. Tip time is scheduled for 4 PM.
Other MEC Scores Wednesday:
Charleston 69 Alderson Broaddus 55
West Liberty 129 Frostburg State 103
Glenville State 84 Davis & Elkins 81
Concord 78 West Virginia Wesleyan 64
Fairmont State 107 Wheeling 84
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 9-0 (14-1)
West Virginia State 8-1 (14-1)
Charleston 7-2 (10-5)
Fairmont State 6-3 (11-4)
Concord 6-3 (9-4)
Glenville State 5-4 (9-6)
NDC 5-4 (8-6)
Davis & Elkins 3-6 (9-6)
Alderson Broaddus 3-6 (4-9)
Frostburg State 1-8 (5-10)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-8 (1-12)
Wheeling 0-9 (2-13)
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