The Notre Dame College Falcons advanced to the finals of the MEC Tournament with a 87-69 win over Fairmont State. NDC improves to 22-8 on the season with the win. Fairmont State falls to 22-8 after the defeat on Saturday night.
Head Coach Tim Koenig talked about the win afterwards:
" As I said yesterday any win in this league especially in this tournament is a good win. Isaiah Sanders made shots- Bruce Hodges and Halil Parks made shots. Fairmont decided they were going to play the percentages from the season and guys stepped up for us." Koenig said.
Will Vorhees agreed with his head coach:
" It was a good team win. We are fortunate to get the opportunity to play tomorrow. They doubled Larenz (Thurman-) and- doubled me and other guys stepped up." Vorhees added.
Hodges talked about the run that put NDC in control:
" Ouer defense ignited our offense. It is always good to see the ball go in the hoop. It feels good to be on the right side of a run like that."Hodges mentioned.
NDC was paced by Isaiah Sanders with 20 points- Hodges added 19- Vorhees scored 17 to go with nine rebounds- while Halil Parks drained four 3-pointer's on his way to 12 points. Thurman stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points- eight rebounds- and- seven assists. NDC shot 56 percent from the field in the contest. They shot 60 percent (15-25) from the 3-point line which broke the NDC tournament record and tied the MEC record for 3-pointer's made in a tournament game. The Falcons shot at a 67 percent clip (8-12) from the free throw line. They had 19 assists and eight turnovers as a team in the victory. NDC also won the rebounding battle 37-29.
Hodges talked about rebounding- taking care of the ball- and- sharing the ball:
" We did a really good job sharing the ball. Guys did a nice job of boxing out tonight. We had a few lapses that led to run-outs but as a whole we knew to beat this team we had to out-rebound them. Honestly eight turnovers is to many- we will have to be better than that tomorrow.
Fairmont State was led by Jason Jolly with 15 points. RJ Hutcherson and Vonte Montgomery each added 13. Cole Von Handorf rounded out the double digit scorers with 12. FSU shot 35 percent from the floor- 25 percent (8-32) from the 3-point line. They shot at a 71 percent clip (5-7) at the free throw line. They had 12 assists- and- six turnovers as a team.
Fairmont would be the team that would come quickly out of the gate as they would go up 6-0 in the early going. NDC would fight back though and take a 7-6 lead after a Hodges layup at the 15:58 mark of the first half. The game would be knotted at 21 with 7:50 to go in the first stanza. NDC would then get hot from distance as they would get a pair of Parks 3-pointer's to go up 10 (37-27) with 5:09 in the first stanza. After a Hodges 3-pointer made it 44-29 Fairmont would close out the half on a 8-0 run to make it a 44-37 NDC advantage at halftime.
Hodges led the Falcons with 12 in the opening half- while Parks and Vorhees chipped in nine points each. NDC shot 53 percent from the field- 60 percent (9-15) from the 3-point line- and- 67 percent (4-6) from the free throw line. The Falcons had a 17-14 rebounding advantage. They had 10 assists- and- two turnovers in the half.
Montgomery led Fairmont with 11- while Jolly netted nine in the first stanza. They shot 50 percent from the field- 31 percent (4-13) from the 3-point line- and- 80 percent (4-5) from the free throw line. The Fighting Falcons had six assists and four turnovers in the half.
Fairmont would get to within five (50-45) with 15:40 to go but that is as close as they would get. It would be a 13 point advantage (63-50) after a Sanders layup at the 11:20 mark. NDC would lead by as many as 24 (81-57) after a Parks 3-pointer at the 4:11 mark. NDC would cruise to victory from there.
Vorhees spoke about the process of finishing games late:
" We have had teams down big before. We have struggled with putting teams away all year. We kept the pressure on those guys tonight though. I missed a few opportunities tonight finishing around the rim but my teammates picked me up.
Koenig talked about the role players:
" Just like to mention a few of the guys who don't get all the press that Will does- and- Larenz does. They really stepped up tonight."
All three guys mentioned:
"We are so happy and fortunate to be able to play for a championship tomorrow. You only get one chance to play with a chance to get in the national tournament. We can't wait for tomorrow."
NDC will take on West Liberty tomorrow at WesBanco Arena. Tip time is slated for 4 PM. You can catch all the action on MountainEast.org
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