The Notre Dame College Falcons played for the final time in Murphy Gym on Saturday. Prior to the game Trent Williams and Trent Blackshire were honored at center court. NDC got 18 points, nine rebounds, and a pair of steals from redshirt sophomore Devin Haid, redshirt junior RJ Ogom added 17, while senior Trent Williams added 10 points and six rebounds on senior day. Junior Gbolahan Adio added 10 as well. Redshirt junior Andre Harris stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. With the 76-63 win NDC concluded the regular season at 14-13 and 8-12 in the MEC. Salem was led by Kapone Barley with 22, Aundre Bills had 11, and Jack Garrison tallied nine in the defeat. The Tigers fall to 7-22 on the season.
"Happy to get the win. We left a lot out there. We did a decent job on the defensive end of making them take tough shots. We gave them some easy ones with turnovers. We did a really good job on the glass, 51 rebounds and 18 offensive, that was the difference. We have gotten considerably better at rebounding since we have been emphasizing it. It wasn't a strong suit of ours at the beginning of the year but we have turned it into a positive," NDC head coach Mark Richmond explained.
The game went back and forth in the early going as it would be tied at eight five minutes in. It would again be tied, this time at 10 before Haid scored off an offensive rebound then got a steal and scored at the other end to put the home team ahead by four (14-10.) An Ian Hardy 3-pointer at the 9:54 mark of the first half would cut the NDC lead to two (16-14.) Ogom and Haid would each score to extend the lead to six. After an Ogom jumper at the 5:59 mark of the first half the Falcons held a 26-17 lead. The lead would be stretched to 14 (33-19) as Adio stole the ball and Ogom dunked at the other end. Adio then knocked down a triple at the 3:17 mark. A 8-0 run by the Tigers trimmed the lead to eight after a Garrison basket. NDC got a triple by junior Josh Dames right before halftime and the lead was 11 (36-25) at the intermission.
NDC was led by Haid with 10 and Ogom with nine in the opening half. NDC shot 42.1 percent from the floor, 21.4 percent (3-14) from the 3-point line, and 50 percent (1-2) at the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes. The Falcons had nine assists and seven turnovers while they were +8 on the glass (25-17) in the opening frame. Salem was led by Hardy, Barley, and Brandon Francois who each had seven in the opening half. They shot 31.3 percent from the field, 25 percent (2-8) from the 3-point line, and had two assists to go along with six turnovers in the opening stanza.
A Williams 3-pointer would extend the NDC lead to 14 (39-25.) The next four points then went to the Tigers. Salem was within eight (41-33) on an Ashraf Tchadouwa layup at the 16:23 mark. Barley hit a three at the 15:01 mark and it was a seven point game (43-36.) The Falcons would go on a 13-0 run capped by a layup by redshirt freshman Robbie Cass at the 10:49 mark. Salem would then make a run of their own to pull within 10 (58-48) as Barley made two free throws with 7:19 on the clock. NDC would score the next five points and cruise to victory after that.
On the game NDC shot 39.1 percent from the field, 25 percent (6-24) from the 3-point line, and 80 percent (16-20) at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 51-37.
Haid talked rebounding:
"I feel like it is just being aggressive on both sides of the ball. As long as we stay aggressive we will keep rebounding," Haid mentioned.
NDC had 14 assists and 17 turnovers in the contest.
Richmond then gave these thoughts:
"I thought we were pretty balanced tonight. Our passing and timing was off a little. We played well in spurts but I don't think we sustained it as long as we needed to. "
Then Richmond talked about Adio:
"GB continues to progress. He does a little of everything for us. He made some really good passes, had three assists but could have had more if we did a better job of finishing around the rim. Typically he is guarding one of the other teams best players. He has really improved and gotten better."
Salem shot 35.3 percent from the field, 28 percent (7-25) from the 3-point line, and 47.1 percent (8-17) from the free throw line. They had 10 assists and 13 turnovers in the contest.
"GB and Devin have a big impact on what we do as a team on defense. They get us a lot of steals, run outs, and dunks," Trent Williams stated.
Adio reflected on his time in South Euclid and talked about the game today:
"I never thought I'd end up here even being from this area. This place has been really good to me, it being a small community and everybody knowing everybody. I've been through a lot this year and the last three years with my teammates. I am grateful to have been a part of this place. It is unfortunate that it is closing but on to the next chapter. As for my game I have found my groove the last couple games. Our team has changed so much. Me personally I was playing too fast and overthinking things. My teammates have found me of late and I have been putting the ball in the hoop. Glad to have this momentum heading into the MEC Tournament next week."
Richmond talked about Williams:
"Trent has become more and more comfortable as the year has gone on. I appreciate his contributions. He is a guy who we took a chance on late in the summer. He had a really good career at Tiffin. The adjustment to this place took a little bit for him. He played his role and I was excited to see him finish his regular season career with a win."
NDC will now enter the MEC Tournament as the eight seed and take on ninth seeded Wheeling on Wednesday at 830 PM at WesBanco Arena.
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
West Liberty 107 Wheeling 92
West Virginia State 83 Charleston 66
Fairmont State 107 Frostburg State 62
Davis & Elkins 88 West Virginia Wesleyan 76
Glenville State 80 Concord 61
Final MEC Standings:
Charleston 17-3 (24-3)
West Liberty 17-3 (23-5)
Concord 14-6 (21-6)
West Virginia State 14-6 (19-8)
Fairmont State 13-7 (21-7)
Davis & Elkins 10-10 (15-13)
Glenville State 8-12 (13-15)
NDC 8-12 (14-13)
Wheeling 6-14 (10-17)
Frostburg State 2-18 (3-25)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-19 (2-26)
MEC Tournament Wednesday:
Friday Games:
Atlantic Region Rankings:
Gannon
Cal (PA)
Charleston
West Liberty
Millersville
East Stroudsburg
Concord
Fairmont State
West Virginia State
Lock Haven
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