The Notre Dame College Falcons and D'Youville Saints did battle inside of Murphy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. In a game that featured 10 ties and seven lead changes NDC shot a season high 60 percent from the field in a 91-81 victory. With a fourth straight win NDC improves to 6-5 and 2-4 in the MEC. D'Youville drops to 5-8 following the defeat.
"We were playing as a team. Staying off my teammates and going with them. They got me going early in the game and that was big for me," NDC redshirt sophomore Devin Haid explained.
"I didn't think we got off to a great start but in the last 30 minutes of the game we really competed defensively. All in all I was happy to win the game," NDC head coach Mark Richmond stated.
NDC was led by four players in double figures in the win. Haid paced the Falcons with 25 points to go along with five steals and a pair of blocks. Richmond talked about him:
"Devin was really aggressive offensively. he got to the rim, gambled on defense which paid off today and made his free throws. He was under control when he drove it and he had a nice game."
Then Richmond talked about Jones:
"Javontae was really efficient (7-9 from the field) and he took what the defense gave him."
The Saints were paced by Trayton Trice with 27 points and eight rebounds, Chase Jenkins had 14, Noah Hutchins added 11, and Nasir Hammonds tallied 10.
It was a quick start for the Saints as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead. NDC responded with an 8-0 run of their own as Haid and Jones scored on consecutive trips down the floor. It was 16-12 in favor of the visitors after a Chase Jenkins 3-pointer. NDC would score the next five points to regain the lead as a Davin Zeigler steal led to a layup by freshman Cameron Johnson. Jenkins then knocked down back to back threes to put DU up 22-17 with 11:58 in the opening half. Richmond talked about that:
"I told the guys Jenkins can shoot. He is shooting 47 percent from the 3-point line on the season. We dared him to make the first few and he went 4-4 to start the game. We made him take some tough ones some contested ones the rest of the game."
NDC trailed by nine (30-21) midway through the opening half. They still trailed by nine (36-27) at the 7:22 mark of the opening half. Jones would hit a jumper to start an 11-0 run that gave NDC a 38-36 lead. After a pair of Hutchins free throws tied the game at 38 NDC would see Jones score the next five points on an alley oop from Zeigler followed by an and one that gave them the lead 43-40 with 2:46 until halftime.
"I try to bring the energy for the team. Everything starts on defense for me and then I worry about the offense later. When we get into the paint that is when we are at our best," Jones said.
NDC would carry a 48-45 lead into the locker room.
Richmond talked about the message the last few days as a team:
"They (D'Youville) do not help a whole lot. They get out to shooters. The message the last few days was to get downhill and play off two feet. We got to the rim and the free throw line."
In the opening half NDC was led by Haid and Harris who each had 11, Jones added nine, and Adio tallied seven in the first 20 minutes. As a team NDC shot 60.6 percent in the opening stanza, 2-8 (25 percent) from the 3-point line, and 6-8 (75 percent) at the free throw line. The Falcons led 15-14 on the glass. They had nine assists and six turnovers in the opening stanza.
For the Saints Trice led the way with 13 in the first half, Jenkins chipped in 12, while Hutchins added nine points, five rebounds, and three assists in the first 20 minutes. As a team DU shot 51.6 percent from the field, 57.1 percent (8-14) from the 3-point line, and 62.5 percent (5-8) at the free throw line. They had eight assists and seven turnovers in the half.
The Saints came out and tied the game at 51 just over two minutes into the second half after a Trice layup. The teams would trade buckets before Haid gave the Falcons the lead back 55-53 after a technical foul resulted in a pair of free throws at the 16:11 mark. The game went back and forth as we would be knotted at 61 after a Hammonds layup with 11:14 to go. Haid made back to back layups after steals to make it a four point NDC lead. Two free throws by Bryson Birdsong sliced the lead to two (65-63) with 9:23 to go. The Falcons would go on a 12-0 run capped by an Adio jam with six minutes on the clock. The next six points went the way of the Saints to make it 78-69 NDC After a 3-pointer by Luke Theissen following an Adio triple it was still a single digit game (81-72.) A steal by Adio led to a Harris triple to make it a 12 point game (84-72) with 3:21 to go. Trice would hit a pair of free throws and a bucket to make it an eight point game (84-76) with 2:34 to go. Adio would spilt a pair of free throws and a dunk by Harris would make it 87-76 with just over two minutes to go. The Falcons would lead by double digits the rest of the way to secure a fourth straight win.
Haid talked a little about the flow of the game:
"We need to bring our own energy with everyone on break right now. We did a good job of that to start off the game then we relaxed a little and turned it back up in the second half."
As a team the Falcons shot 60 percent from the field which is the eighth best percentage in program history, 26.7 percent (4-15) from the 3-point line, and 62.5 percent (15-24) from the free throw line. NDC won the rebounding battle 33-32. They had 13 assists and 15 turnovers in the contest. NDC outscored the Saints 22-5 on fast break points in the contest.
The Saints shot 43.9 percent from the field, 43.5 percent (10-23) from the 3-point line, and 72.2 percent (13-18) from the free throw line. They had 14 assists and 16 turnovers in this one.
Haid gave the final thought:
"We didn't shoot that well from the 3-point line today but that will come."
NDC will be back in action on 1/10 when they take on the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets at Murphy Gym. Tip time for that one is slated for 7:30 PM.
Other MEC Scores:
Wheeling 94 Franciscan 75
Fairmont State 68 Virginia Union 66
Bowie State 80 Frostburg State 70
West Liberty 90 Virginia Wise 79
MEC Standings;
Charleston 5-1 (7-2)
West Liberty 4-1 (9-3)
Davis & Elkins 4-1 (8-3)
Concord 3-1 (7-1)
Glenville State 3-2 (6-5)
West Virginia State 3-3 (6-5)
Fairmont State 2-3 (7-3)
Wheeling 2-3 (5-6)
NDC 2-4 (6-5)
Frostburg State 1-5 (1-11)
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-5 (1-11)
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