It was a good night all around for Notre Dame College Wednesday night at the McDonough Center on the campus at Wheeling Jesuit. The 83-72 victory was the Falcons first ever win at Wheeling. Also in the contest some more history was made, as Will Vorhees eclipsed the 2,000 point mark in his career.
NDC (6-1 3-0 MEC) was paced by Larenz Thurman with 26 points. He was one of four Falcons in double figures. Isaiah Sanders had 15 points- while Will Vorhees added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Halil Parks added 12 points for NDC. The Falcons shot 43 percent as a team. They shot 27 percent (6-22) from the 3-point line. NDC was a solid 88 percent (29-33) at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 42-37. The Falcons had eight assists and nine turnovers.
Wheeling (0-6 0-3 MEC) was led by Brendan Hoban with 15 points- while Steve Cannady also had 15. Miguel Rodriguez added 14- and- Franck Kamgain added 11 for the Cardinals in the loss. They shot 35 percent from the field as a team. They shot 33 percent (14-42) from the 3-point line. At the free throw line the Cardinals shot at a 80 percent clip (8-10.) They had 13 assists and nine turnovers as a team.
NDC Coach Tim Koenig talked about winning at Wheeling for the first time ever:
" I am so proud of these guys. They are a really good group. To win at Wheeling for the first time ever obviously is a big deal. This is a special group- and- with this group it starts at the defensive end."
The game began with NDC jumping out to a 9-3 lead after the first media timeout. It was 16-11 Falcons halfway thru the first half. Wheeling battled back and tied the game at 23 before the Falcons closed the half on a 15-4 run to take a 38-27 halftime lead.
Thurman led the Falcons with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes- while Parks added nine. NDC was 14-15 at the free throw line in the opening half. They shot 39 percent from the field- 33 percent from the 3-point line (4-12-) and out rebounded Wheeling 23-18. The Falcons had seven turnovers in the opening half.
Wheeling was led by Cannady with nine points. They shot 29 percent from the field in the opening half. They shot just 20 percent (4-20) from the 3-point line. They had four assists and four turnovers in the half.
Koenig talked about the run to end the half:
" We had really good shot selection. We got stops and even got out in transition to get some easy baskets. It is hard to play in the half court all the time."
On the run happening with Vorhees on the bench:
" Will is really unselfish. He was getting doubled on the catch every time he touched it. We have confidence in our other guys though. The bench stepped up. We kept Wheeling out of the paint- and- contested 3-point shooters."
The second half was all NDC. The Falcons would lead by as many as 19 at the 8:27 mark. Wheeling would get it down to 10 a couple times late, but that is as close as they would get.
Koenig talked about the luxury of having both Thurman and Vorhees to go to late in games:
" We got contributions from everybody again tonight. Larenz and Will obviously are the guys that are going to do the heavy lifting night in and night out."
Koenig talked about the accomplishment by Vorhees tonight:
" Will broke the 2,000 point mark for his career tonight. Wanted to publicly congratulate him on that. He was getting double teamed on the catch tonight. Although it was not his best night tonight getting to 2,000 is a heck of an accomplishment for Will. It is more about his work ethic than anything. He is an unbelievable story. Coming out of high school his only scholarship offer was from Notre Dame College. He is a willing passer, is a great leader. He was very vocal and energetic on the bench when he was in foul trouble."
Vorhees gave his thoughts on the win:
" This was definitely a team win, everybody stepped up and did there part. Always nice to make history and we did that with a win tonight. Larenz is great for us and he proved it again tonight. HP can go off any night as well."
Sanders added his take on the win:
" It was a great team win. The bench was great, we talked well on the court and so did the bench off the court. Team effort on defense was the key to this win. Larenz made a lot of big plays tonight. When he scores it opens the floor for others like myself to get good looks at the hoop."
On his improvement at the free throw line since the season began:
" During the Slippery Rock game I think I was thinking to much about making the free throws especially because it was my first game. I take my time at the line now and its helped me in a big way."
Other MEC Scores Wednesday:
Fairmont State 77 Glenville State 75
Shepherd 71 West Virginia Wesleyan 54
Concord 106 Charleston 100 (OT)
West Liberty 97 Urbana 73
Virginia Wise 105 West Virginia State 92
MEC Standings:
NDC 3-0 (6-1)
West Liberty 3-0 (5-1)
Fairmont State 3-0 (5-2)
Shepherd 2-1 (5-1)
Concord 2-1 (4-2)
Virginia Wise 2-1 (4-3)
West Virginia State 1-2 (2-4)
Glenville State 1-2 (4-2)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-2 (3-3)
Charleston 0-3 (4-3)
Urbana 0-3 (1-5)
Wheeling Jesuit 0-3 (0-6)
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