The Notre Dame College Falcons and Glenville State University Pioneers did battle inside of Murphy Gymnasium on Wednesday night. NDC (3-3 2-1 MEC) held off the Pioneers (2-4 0-3 MEC) 77-73 as the Pioneers had three chances to tie the game with 3-pointer's late but could not convert.
NDC Head Coach Mark Richmond talked about this win:
"It was an interesting game after coming off of thanksgiving break, "Richmond mentioned. "Two big runs, one in each half for us, then I don't knowif we ran out of gas or what but for some reason we relaxed. At the end of the day though I would rather be in our locker room than theirs after a win."
Gbolahan Adio talked about the possession that won the game for NDC:
"Our coaches have been preaching rebounding all year and emphasised it this game given they (Glenville) are a good offensive rebounding team. We just made sure that every shot had a good contest. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get the first two rebounds but we had to make sure to keep fighting until we did."
In a game that featured 12 lead changes it started off tied at seven at the first media timeout of the contest. The Pioneers went on a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead after a Jamarvious Jones 3-pointer with 10:52 in the opening half. NDC would then go on a 8-0 run as a 3-pointer by Willis made it 17-16 NDC at the 8:29 mark of the opening stanza. After back to back 3-pointer by Jay Scott put GSU up by five NDC would go on a run of their own. Javontae Jones and Daylin Lee would start the run and Willis would hit hit a pair of threes and NDC would lead 34-26 heading into halftime.
Willis talked about the first half:
"We started off slow and we needed a boost and that's what I wanted to provide, "Willis explained. "We had really good spurts where we were good and playing with energy, and that's what got me going. Seeing the first one go in, being patient and taking good shots. Willis led the Falcons with 14 points in the opening stanza.
Richmond talked about the first half:
"I thought our defense was really good in the first half. We held them to 26 points and we gave up some easy buckets or that number could have been even lower. The bench was really important today too especially in the first half."
The second half saw NDC score the first five points as Jamarr Talbert knocked down a 3-pointer and Tyland Crawford had a basket as well. The Pioneers would use an 11-0 run in the middle of the half to regain the lead 47-46 after an Isaac Lane layup. A Willis 3-pointer at the 7:35 mark but NDC on top 51-49. After Word tied the game at 51 Talbert would give NDC a lead that they would not relinquish as he knocked down a 3-pointer, also made a jumper and Tyland Crawford made a layup. A DeAirius Barker 3-pointer would cap the 10-0 run to give NDC the 61-51 lead with 5:42 to go. The lead was trimmed to three (72-69) after Jacquez Yow made a pair of free throws for the Pioneers. Barker and Willis each made a pair of free throws late but the Pioneers still had three chances to tie it. Lee made a free throw to seal it as NDC stayed perfect at home.
NDC was paced by Willis with 22, Talbert netted a career high 14 all in the second half, while Barker had 11. Tyland Crawford added nine and seven rebounds.
Richmond talked about having Crawford back:
"It was good to have Tyland back tonight. He is a big part of what we do. it took him a little while to get his legs back and things like that after being out for a few games but his experience is always key."
Crawford talked about being back after an injury:
"it really felt good being out on the court with the guys, "Crawford said. "Still getting my legs back but I felt good. I pride myself on being able to do multiple things on the court like scoring, getting teammates involved, defense, and rebounding and that's what I did tonight."
He then talked about his mindset coming off the bench:
"My mindset doesn't change coming off the bench. Still looking to dominate every time I step on the floor and lead the guys the best way I can."
Richmond talked about Willis:
"Jaedon has always been reliable. We ran some things to get him some shots late. He stepped up and made big plays as he always seems to do. His experience and all the work he has put in shows up when it counts. We want this to be a special year for him and the rest of these guys and we are doing our best to work towards that."
As a team NDC shot 45.9 percent from the field, 38.5 percent (10-26) from the 3-point line, and 73.3 percent (11-15) at the free throw line. They had 16 assists and 19 turnovers in this one.
As mentioned earlier the Falcons had a trio of players in double figures as Willis had 22, Talbert 14, and Barker 11.
Talbert talked about his night:
"I just wanted to be more aggressive, "Talbert mentioned. "In the first half I was too passive so it was my mission to get to the rack and get open so my teammates could find me in the second half. It has not been great shooting wise for me early in the year but seeing one go in really helped."
Talbert than talked tempo:
"We want to teams to play our pace and not speed us up and that was the case tonight. We did that by holding Glenville under their average."
Richmond talked mixing and matching:
"We are still trying to find some things out with rotations and things like that. I keep saying our strength is in our numbers. We did not close this game out the way we would have liked but it is early in the season and we will get their sooner rather than later."
Glenville State was led by 16 points from Smith, Yow added 15, Scott netted 13, Word had 11, and Jones tallied 10. GSU shot 39.2 percent from the field, 22.6 percent (7-31) from the 3-point line, and 80 percent (8-10) at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 43-37. The Pioneers had 10 assists and 17 turnovers in the contest.
Talbert talked about protecting the home court:
"We take great pride in playing and winning at home. We love our fans, when we play at home we have more energy. We want to put on a show for our fans."
NDC will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Concord to battle the Mountain Lions. Tip time is slated for 4 PM.
Other MEC Scores:
Concord 81 Alderson Broaddus 66
West Liberty 121 West Virginia Wesleyan 54
Davis & Elkins 77 Wheeling 75
West Virginia State 100 Frostburg State 85
Fairmont State 74 Charleston 61
MEC Standings:
Fairmont State 3-0 (5-0)
West Liberty 3-0 (6-0)
West Virginia State 3-0 (6-0)
Davis & Elkins 2-1 (6-1)
NDC 2-1 (3-3)
Charleston 2-1 (3-4)
Concord 1-2 (4-3)
Frostburg State 1-2 (3-4)
Alderson Broaddus 1-2 (1-5)
Glenville State 0-2 (2-4)
Wheeling 0-3 (1-5)
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-3 (0-6)
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