The Notre Dame College Falcons had not played in nine days and it took them a while to get going on Monday but they finally did and held a third straight opponent under 65 points as they beat D'Youville University 83-57 inside of the College Center Gym in Buffalo, New York. With the win NDC improves to 6-4 and 4-2 in the MEC. The Saints drop to 3-9 after the defeat.
"Really proud of our defensive effort today, thought we played like every possession mattered, "NDC Head Coach Mark Richmond explained. "Offensively we wanted to attack them at the rim. We were able to do that and that helped us get to the free throw line."
NDC had five players score in double figures. They were paced by Jaedon Willis with 21. "We started a little slow just because we had not played in a while but we won this game defensively and as the game progressed our offense came alive and we were able to run away with it, "Willis stated.
It was a slow start for both teams as the game would be knotted at six in the games first four minutes. NDC then got a spark off the bench after they trailed 11-8. DeAirus Barker knocked down a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to put the Falcons on top. After a Saints hoop NDC got five points from Tyland Crawford. The NDC bench would ultimately outscore the Saints bench 38-18 in this one.
"I hadn't played in a while so I was eager to get out there, "Crawford mentioned. 'I got some easy ones early and just kept going from there. I felt in control the whole game and it came easy to me today."
NDC would lead by eight (36-28) at the intermission. The Falcons shot 48.1 percent in the first half, 20 percent (1-5) from the 3-point line, and 60 percent (9-15) at the free throw line. Willis led NDC with 10 in the opening stanza, while Barker had seven, and Obinna Ugwuakazi netted six.
The Saints shot 26.5 percent in the first half, eight percent (1-12) from the 3-point line, and 69.2 percent (9-13) at the free throw line.
NDC got off to a quick start in the second half and stretched the lead to 13 (41-28) after a Daylin Lee dunk at the 18:01 mark. NDC kept the lead in double digits and after Willis was fouled on a 3-point attempt he knocked down all three free throws to stretch the lead to 17 (55-38) at the 8:57 mark. Willis was a perfect nine of nine at the free throw line on the day. NDC led by as many as 27 (75-48) with 3:09 to go after a Harris dunk. That and a late dunk by Javontae Jones would be the exclamation point to a third straight NDC win.
Joining Willis, who scored 21 in double figures were Harris who had 18 points and a career high 13 rebounds, Crawford who stuffed the stat sheet with a season high 12 points, a season high 11 rebounds, and a career high eight assists. Barker added 11, and Ugwuakazi tallied a career high 10 points to go with six rebounds.
Crawford talked about the defense:
"The biggest thing for all of us was on the defensive end. We pressured the ball well and forced them to take tough shots all game. That transferred to the offensive end and everyone was able to get easy buckets."
As a team the Falcons shot 46 percent from the field, 35.7 percent (5-14) from the 3-point line, and 64.5 percent (20-31) at the free throw line. NDC had 15 assists and 20 turnovers in the contest. They dominated the boards out-rebounding DYU 57-41. The Falcons were also +28 (48-20) on points in the paint and the NDC bench had a 38-18 edge in bench points.
The Saints shot 25.4 percent from the field, 17.9 percent (5-28) from the 3-point line, and 66.7 percent (16-24) from the free throw line. They were led by the trio of Renard Fontez-Jule, Will Kondrat, and Latrell Butler who all scored 14. They had seven assists and 15 turnovers in the contest.
Crawford talked about the minutes from Barker today:
"DB (Barker) played well today. He was everywhere whether it was on the boards or controlling the offense."
Then he talked about Ugwuakazi:
"Obi is one of our better bigs and he showed out tonight. He rebounded and finished strong at the basket. That's something we want him to continue to do."
Crawford talked about the game:
"All around great effort today.
Richmond gave the final thought:
"At the end of the day our effort and competitiveness was the difference."
NDC will take another break before they hit the court one last time in 2022. The Falcons will host Mount Aloysius College at Murphy Gym on 12/30. Tip time is slated for 4 PM.
Other MEC Scores:
(Saturday:)
Fairmont State 108 Felician 76
Davis & Elkins 95 Thomas University 84
Salem 95 Glenville State 93
Lubbock Christian 91 West Liberty 83
(Sunday:)
Fairmont State 130 Penn State Greater Allegheny 75
West Liberty 96 Missouri S& T 88
(Monday:)
Ohio Dominican 71 Wheeling 56
MEC Standings: West Liberty 6-0 (10-1)
West Virginia State 6-1 (9-1)
Concord 4-2 (7-3)
NDC 4-2 (6-4)
Charleston 4-2 (6-5)
Fairmont State 3-3 (8-3)
Glenville State 3-3 (6-5)
Davis & Elkins 3-4 (9-4)
Alderson Broaddus 2-4 (3-7)
Frostburg State 1-5 (4-7)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-5 (1-8)
Wheeling 0-6 (1-10)
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