The Notre Dame College Falcons close out the 2018 calendar year with a home game Saturday in South Euclid against the Gannon Golden Knights.Tip time is set for 2 PM at Murphy Gym. NDC comes into the contest 7-3 and 4-2 in the MEC. Gannon comes into the game with a record of 3-5 and 1-2 in the PSAC.
The Falcons come into the game Saturday coming off a loss to Charleston last time out. It was a 87-81 overtime defeat. Will Vorhees led the way for NDC with 19 points and eight rebounds in the defeat. Drew Scarberry knocked down five 3-pointer's on his way to 18 points- Isaiah Sanders added 14- and- Larenz Thurman stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points- seven rebounds- and- five assists in a losing effort. NDC comes into Saturday averaging 84.3 points per game as a team- on the defensive end they allow 79.3 points per night.
Individually NDC is led by Vorhees who puts up 22.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. Thurman scores 20.4 a game- Sanders adds 14.2 a night- and- Halil Parks averages 13.1 points per game. Angelo Cugini averages 10.3 rebounds a night as well.
Cugini talked about the matchup with Gannon:
" Gannon is a very well coached team. This is the 3rd time that I have played against them in my career. It will be a very physical game- a lot like football against these guys. It will be very similar to when we played Slippery Rock."
Bruce Hodges talked about his role and what to expect Saturday:
" Gannon is not the best offensive team we will play against. They can really get to the basket though. We just look forward to the opportunity and a chance to get a w against a quality opponent tomorrow."
Will Vorhees talked about the game as well:
" We will need other guys to step up especially rebounding tomorrow to take the pressure off of me and Angelo. We need to find bodies- box out- and- get to the glass."
Gannon is led by Victor Olawoye who is averaging 10.5 points per night- Jovante Lee is the Golden Knights top 3-point shooter shooting 35 percent from the 3-point line. Kofi Mills is the top rebounder at 6.3 rebounds per night. Gannon has been really good on the glass this year as they out rebound the opponent 41.1- 31.8 on average. They average 62.4 points a game while they give up 62.1 a contest.
Last time out Gannon was a 60-57 loser to Lock Haven. Darryl Porter was the only Gannon player in double figures in that one with 13.
Coach Tim Koenig talked about the matchup with Gannon:
" Gannon is a really good basketball team. They made the NCAA tournament last year. They have had a few injuries this season. With that being said we have to play really well to beat these guys. They play a lot on offense like Virginia. They will make you defend for 30 plus seconds and be methodical. Take a lot of shots with under eight seconds on the shot clock."
" For us offensively we need to move the ball side to side. If we don't reverse the ball that is bad news for us. We need to get Will and Larenz there touches in the pick and roll as well. "
" On the glass will be a real challenge against these guys. We need all five guys to rebound and help each other. We need guys talking on the bench We also need to pass the ball ahead when we have the opportunity to do so. We need to run our offense better than we have the last few games."
As for the defensive end:
" We have had a lot of emphasis on being in the right spots and finding bodies. We need to talk and get to back where we were. We have taking a step back on defense and rebounding in the last couple weeks."
As for matching the bigs of Gannon Koenig said this: " We may tweak our lineups a little bit. There is no panic button. We will be ready to go and look forward to the challenge tomorrow."
Other MEC Games Saturday:
West Virginia Wesleyan @Concord
MEC Standings:
Fairmont State 6-0 (8-2)
West Liberty 5-1 (7-2)
Concord 4-1 (8-2)
NDC 4-2 (7-3)
Charleston 3-3 (7-3)
Shepherd 3-3 (6-3)
Virginia Wise 3-3 (5-5)
West Virginia Wesleyan 2-3 (4-5)
Glenville State 2-4 (6-4)
West Virginia State 2-4 (3-6)
Urbana 1-5 (2-7)
Wheeling Jesuit 0-6 (0-10)
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