NDC senior guard Davon Zeigler tied for the second most steals in a game in NDC hisotry with seven (tying Tyree Gaiter on 1/12/2016 and 12/14/2013 only trailing Mike Sampson's eight steal game on 1/29/2022 but it was not nearly enough as NDC fell 102-79 to the Davis& Elkins College Senators at the McDonnell Center in Elkins, West Virginia. NDC had four players score in double figures in the defeat. Devin Haid paced the Falcons with 17, Andre Harris added 13, RJ Ogom tallied 11, and Cam Johnson scored 10 off the bench. With the loss NDC falls to 2-5 and 1-4 in the MEC. The Falcons remain winless (0-4) on the road thus far this season.
The Senators (6-3 4-1 MEC) were paced by Vadim Clanet who drained six 3-pointer's on his way to a team leading 22 points. Sam Rolle added 18 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, Charleston Ponds was a perfect 3-3 from the 3-point line on his way to 13 points, while both Tristan Starks and Nicolas Silva had 10. Clarens Pierre led the team with nine rebounds and also blocked four shots while Starks also grabbed eight boards.
"We had a rough stretch at the end of the first half. Never could get back in it,"NDC head coach Mark Richmond mentioned.
Ogom opened the scoring as he got a pass from Harris and slammed it home. After Ponds tied the game with a layup NDC went back on top as Zeigler got in the scoring column for the first time this season. After a pair of Ogom free throws NDC had a four point lead. The Senators erased that lead quickly and went ahead 8-6 after a Ponds triple 3:36 seconds in. NDC tied it on a Haid layup and took the lead on a Johnson jumper at the 14:53 mark of the first half. After a Starks three-point play Haid respoonded with one of his own to put NDC back on top. A Johnson 3-pointer made the NDC lead five (16-11) with 13:32 left in the half. A Rolle layup and 3-pointer kickstarted a 12-0 run for D&E to put them up 23-16 at the 10:32 mark of the first half. NDC got a 3-ball from Ogom followed by a triple by senior Trent Williams that made it 23-22 D&E with 9:32 in the first half. After a layup by Malachi Hampton NDC tied the game on a 3-pointer by junior Gbolahan Adio (25-25.) A pair of Ogom free throws put NDC up two with just under eight minutes left in the half. Rolle tied it but Harris gave NDC the lead back. The Senators would close the half on a 23-6 run to take a 50-35 lead into halftime. The Senators shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half and shot 46.1 percent (6-13) from the 3-point line. The Senators struggled at the free throw line where they shot 57 percent (4-7) in the opening stanza. Rolle led the way with 12 points and four assists while Ponds had 10 in the opening stanza. The Senators also dominated the glass 25-11 in the first 20 minutes. They had nine assists and 10 turnovers in the half.
NDC was led by Ogom with nine in the half while Williams had six and both Haid and Johnson tallied five. As a team the Falcons shot 31.4 percent in the first half, 35.7 percent (5-14) from the 3-point line, and 88.9 percent (8-9) at the free throw line. NDC had eight assists and three turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
The lead grew to 20 early in the first half but NDC got to within 14 (63-49) as Zeigler had a pair of steals. One that led to his 3-pointer and another that led to a Javontae Jones jumper at the 15:07 mark. The lead quickly swelled to 22. Between the 11:03 mark and the nine minute mark NDC went on a 9-0 run as a Zeigler 3-pointer made the deficit 14 (75-61.) The Falcons would get to within 14 one more time but that is as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Richmond gave these thoughts after the contest:
"We tried to get it all back at once on offense and didn't stay disciplined defensively so it got away from us. Have to stay togehter and play as a team even when we are behind."
As a team NDC shot 36.9 percent from the field, 38.5 percent (10-26) from the 3-point line, and 65.6 percent (21-32) from the free throw line. They had 12 assists and eight turnovers in the contest.
The Senators shot 60.6 percent from the field, 53.3 percent (16-30) from the 3-point line, and 60 percent (6-10) from the free throw line. The Senators dominated the rebounding battle 42-24. They had 21 assists and 19 turnovers in the game.
NDC will be back home on Saturday when they take on the West Virginia Wesleyan College Bobcats. Tip time from Murphy Gym is set for 4 PM.
Other MEC Scores:
Concord 86 Frostburg State 65
Fairmont State 82 Glenville State 67
Charleston 92 West Liberty 83
Salem 80 West Virginia Wesleyan 72
West Virginia State 96 Wheeling 89
MEC Standings:
Charleston 5-0 (6-1)
Davis & Elkins 4-1 (6-3)
Concord 3-1 (7-1)
West Liberty 3-1 (7-1)
West Virginia State 3-2 (5-3)
Glenville State 2-2 (4-4)
Fairmont State 2-3 (5-3)
Wheeling 1-3 (3-5)
NDC 1-4 (2-5)
Frostburg State 1-4 (1-9)
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-4 (1-8)
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