Four players scored in double figures- and- the Notre Dame College Falcons held a nine point halftime advantage but could not hang on as they were bounced from the MEC Tournament 73-68 by Concord on Wednesday night at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Va.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about it being a tale of two halves tonight:
"It was a tale of two halves. In the first half we really defended well- holding anybody to 24 points is an accomplishment. In the second half we were off balance- and- they made some plays. Obviously Trey Brisco was hard to handle. I was proud of our guys all season long though- they never gave in. I'm excited about the future here."Richmond stated.
He continued about how his team had some tough stretches all season:
" Thought we played really hard tonight. We had to play a possession by possession game in the second half. They were able to set there defense- and- Brisco got to the free throw line and didn't miss any free throws. For whatever reason we had stretches this season where we had a hard time scoring and that showed up again tonight."
Drew Scarberry talked about the difference in the game:
" Like Coach said we played really good defense in the first half. To hold a team to 24 points in a half that is hard to do. The difference was the runs- everyone knows basketball is a game of runs- and- they were able to take advantage of the runs to score more points during them than we did. We tried to answer back those runs but we could not do it."Scarberry explained.
NDC was led in scoring by Jordan Burton who netted 15 points- DeAnthony Owens tallied 14 points- and- had a team leading 12 rebounds- while Drew Scarberry also had 14. Levi Frankland rounded out the double digit scorers with 11. NDC shot 45 percent in the contest- 28 percent (7-25) from the 3-point line- and- 72 percent (13-18) at the free throw line. The Falcons had 10 assists- and- 18 turnovers in the game. NDC won the rebounding battle 41-30.
Concord was led by Trey Brisco who scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half- Martin Kelly Jr. had 10 points and nine rebounds- while David Mullumba also contributed 10. The Mountain Lions shot 38 percent from the field- 30 percent (7-23) from the 3-point line- and- 74 percent (20-27) at the free throw line. They had 11 assists- and- seven turnovers in the contest.
Bruce Hodges hit a pair of 3-pointer's in the games first four minutes and NDC took a 10-9 lead. At the 14:40 mark of the opening half NDC would take a 14-12 lead as Scarberry would hit two of three from the free throw line. After a Scarberry dunk at the 11:16 mark the Falcons held a seven point advantage (21-14.) Owens would make a layup with 1:41 on the first half clock and then Frankland hit a pair of free throws with 1:17 in the half to give the Falcons there largest lead of the game at 10 (33-23.) NDC took a 33-24 lead into the halftime break.
Hodges and Scarberry each scored nine- while Frankland tallied seven in the opening half. NDC led on the glass 22-13. They shot 53 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes- but turned the ball over 12 times.
The Mountain Lions were led by David Mullumba and Ethan Heller who had five each in the opening stanza. They shot 27 percent from the field- 15 percent from the 3-point line (2-13)-and- 60 percent (6-10) from the free throw line in the opening half. Concord had five assists- and- five turnovers in the half.
After a Owens basket NDC stretched the lead to 11 but the Mountain Lions would fight back. After a Kelly basket at the 12 minute mark it was a three point game (43-40.) Burton would score the next eight points for the Falcons and they led 51-46 with 8:54 to go. After Scarberry hit a pair of free throws the lead was seven (53-46.) Brisco would then go to work and his two free throws at the 4:48 mark put the Mountain Lions on top (58-57.) Owens would briefly give NDC the lead back but an old fashioned three point play by Malik Johnson would put Concord on top to stay with 4:09 on the clock. A Johnson jumper and then a 3-pointer by Mullumba all but sealed this one. Burton got NDC within five but that is as close as they would get as the Mountain Lions advanced to face top seeded West Liberty on Friday night. NDC saw the season come to an end with a record of 9-20.
Scarberry summed up his career the best he could after the contest:
" It was a crazy-crazy career. We had so many ups and downs in my time here. I played on a team that won only six games- and- played on the first team ever to win a conference championship. I can't put it into words. Wouldn't change it for anything. I was happy with my career. A lot of people told me I should transfer but I am pleased with my career- and- would not change anything for the world."
Hodges talked about his two years at NDC:
" It's been a honor playing for Notre Dame. It's a place I will always call home! I appreciate my teammates and coaches! 3 out!"Hodges stated.
Four other NDC players saw there NDC careers end Wednesday in Owens- Dan Lott- Marek Hulva- and- Larenz Thurman. All good things must come to an end. That is how I will always feel about this group.
Other MEC Game Wednesday:
West Virginia Wesleyan 68 Urbana 54
MEC Quarterfinals (Friday:)
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