What a difference less than two months makes. The Notre Dame College Falcons avenged a loss at Concord earlier in the season with a 90-73 wire to wire win inside of Murphy Gym Wednesday. NDC with the win improved to 7-12 and 5-8 in the MEC. After the loss the Mountain Lions fell to 5-13 and 3-10 in the MEC.
Drew Scarberry talked about the victory:
"Tonight was a great team win. It really showed that when we play together and share the ball we can be really good. We gotta keep the momentum going into the weekend."Scarberry stated.
Coach Mark Richmond gave his insight:
" We came out with a lot of energy tonight. We shared the ball and got stops early. We were able to run and get some easy baskets. We really executed well on both ends. We have been playing the right way- especially in these last three games. We spread the wealth as well- nobody missed more than five shots. Most guys have been doing a really good job. We continue to improve and that gives us a chance every night."Richmond mentioned.
NDC was led by DeAnthony Owens who scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half- he also grabbed eight rebounds. Levi Frankland netted 24- while Scarberry chipped in 20. Jordan Burton led NDC with seven assists. The Falcons shot 57 percent from the floor- 44 percent (11-25) from the 3-point line- and- shot at a 85 percent clip (17-20) from the free throw line. NDC won the rebounding battle 38-27. They had 19 assists- and- 13 turnovers as a team.
Concord was led by Trey Brisco with 31- while Malik Johnson added 11. The Mountain Lions shot 38 percent from the floor- 23 percent (6-26) from the 3-point line- and- 81 percent (25-31) from the free throw line. They had nine assists- and- nine turnovers as a team.
Richmond talked about doing a better job defensively on Ethan Heller:
"We did a much better job on #1 (Heller) than we did the last time we played these guys."
He continued about Brisco:
"Obviously it is quite an accomplishment to score 31 points. He got to the line a bunch and he took advantage of what we gave him."
NDC came out firing early as they would race out to an 18-8 lead after Scarberry knocked down three free throws with 14:32 to go in the opening half. A 12-0 run that featured points from Owens- Dan Lott- and- Scarberry would make it 30-9 Falcons at the 10:54 mark of the half. After a mini run by Concord NDC would get a Lott 3-pointer at the 6:41 mark that made it a 25 point (40-15) Falcons lead. It would be a 20 point (53-33) Falcons lead as both teams headed to the locker room.
Scarberry led the Falcons with 18 in the opening half- while Frankland added 13. NDC shot 56 percent from the floor- 53 percent (9-17) from the 3-point line- and- a perfect eight of eight at the free throw line. The Falcons led on the glass 22-15 at the break. They had 12 assists- and- two turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Concord was led by Brisco with 14- while Johnson had nine in the first half. They shot 32 percent from the floor- 13 percent (2-15) from the 3-point line- and- 75 percent (12-16) at the free throw line in the opening stanza. They had three assists- and- four turnovers in the half.
The Falcons would lead by 23 early in the second half- but Concord would get to within 16 a few times. The last one was at the 4:32 mark but a 6-0 Falcons run sealed this one.
Richmond talked about how good it felt to win the glass again:
"It felt real good to win the glass by a large margin tonight. We got some offensive rebounds which are always good. The shots were not falling in the second half- so you got to go and get the ball."
Richmond also talked about how much harder his team is playing of late:
" I feel like we are playing a lot harder than we were at the beginning of the season. We continue to improve. We talked about the Wesleyan game earlier in the season when we lost a 20 point lead and we certainly made sure that didn't happen tonight."
Bruce Hodges wanted to make sure everyone knew who this game was for:
"Make sure the world knows that game was for Kobe-Gigi- and- everyone involved in the helicopter tragedy on Sunday."Hodges said.
Richmond had one last thought:
"We got these three games here in a row which was nice but now we have to do it on the road- and- we need to be able to string some wins together before March. You can't expect to win three of four games in a row at the MEC tournament when you have not done it yet. You have to learn that now."
The Falcons will look for a fourth straight victory when they travel to Glenville State to take on the Pioneers. Tip time is set for 4 PM.
Other MEC Scores:
West Liberty 100 Davis & Elkins 73
Fairmont State 79 West Virginia State 77
Glenville State 83 Urbana 73 (OT)
West Virginia Wesleyan 75 Wheeling 72
Charleston 76 Frostburg State 55
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 11-2 (16-3)
Charleston 10-3 (16-3)
Fairmont State 9-4 (14-4)
Glenville State 9-4 (12-7)
West Virginia State 8-5 (13-5)
Wheeling 6-7 (9-8)
West Virginia Wesleyan 6-7 (7-12)
NDC 5-8 (7-12)
Frostburg State 4-9 (7-12)
Davis & Elkins 4-9 (6-13)
Concord 3-10 (5-13)
Urbana 3-10 (4-15)
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