The Notre Dame College Falcons and University Charleston Golden Eagles did battle inside Murphy Gymnasium on Saturday. NDC fell 73-64 in the contest. With the loss NDC drops to 9-7 and 6-4 in the MEC. With the win for the University of Charleston the Golden Eagles took over sole possession of first place in the MEC as they improved to 11-2 and 7-1 in the MEC.
NDC Head Coach Mark Richmond talked about the game:
"Obviously we did not play well enough to win, "Richmond mentioned. "We played well in waves but to beat that team you have to play a 40 minute game, and we did not do that today. That is how the last three games have gone for us. The first half did us in. We were not good in the first half. Only scored 23 points, we couldn't get stops on defense to get over the hump."
The Golden Eagles led wire to wire in the contest. It would be 11-7 in favor of the Golden Eagles at the first media timeout. Down 20-12 NDC would go on a 8-0 run as Jaedon Willis hit a pair of free throws after a UC technical foul, DeAirius Barker knocked down a 3-pointer, then a 3-pointer by Willis at the 8:12 mark of the half knotted the game at 20. UC would counter though an 11-0 run of their own before a Daylin Lee 3-pointer trimmed the lead to eight (31-23) at the 4:11 mark of the first stanza. The lead was stretched to 12 (35-23) at halftime.
Willis led the Falcons with 11 in the opening half, while Barker added five in his first career start. NDC shot 36 percent from the field and 25 percent (3-12) from the 3-point line in this half. They also shot 50 percent (4-8) from the free throw line.
UC was led by Lamont McManus with and Jeremiah Keene with eight points each in the opening stanza, while Isaiah Gable added six. UC shot 48 percent from the field, 30 percent (3-10) from the 3-point line, and 55 percent (6-11) from the free throw line in the opening half. They also led on the glass 20-12.
Sam Jackson made a layup to get NDC within 10 on the opening possession of the second half but UC would take their largest lead of the game (44-29) after a Eddie Colbert 3-pointer at the 16:58 mark. The lead was 14 (48-34) when NDC went on a 7-0 run as Willis scored five points and Barker had a pair. Colbert hit a 3-ball to make it a 10 point game but the Falcons got a 3-pointer by Willis, a bucket by Barker, and a Mike Sampson steal and layup to make it a three point game (51-48) at the 10:08 mark.
Richmond talked about what changed during that stretch:
" We were able to score to get into our pressure on defense. We did not score enough buckets late though."
That would be as close as NDC would get. MCManus scored and Mike Sampson converted an old fashioned three-point play to get it to a four point game (53-49.) McManus had a big and one to stretch the lead back to seven (56-49.) A Sampson three-point play at the 7:04 mark made it 58-52. McManus made a dunk but UC had an answer as they did all day long as Colbert hit a 3-pointer with 5:38 on the clock. A Mike Kirkland 3-pointer and a pair of Willis free throws cut the lead to four (63-59) with 4:22 to go. Gable scored for UC to stretch the lead back to six It was a six point game (68-62) with 2:38 to go after a Jackson layup. The Golden Eagles would close it out throwng the ball in the post to McManus.
Richmond talked about the bigs from us:
"The bigs from UC are different than any other bigs we play in the league. They got in close and made some easy ones."
Willis led the Falcons with 21 points, Sampson added 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. Barker scored 11, had six rebounds and four assists. NDC shot 46 percent as a team, 30 percent (7-23) from the 3-point line, and 61 percent (11-18) from the free throw line. They had 12 assists and 12 turnovers on the night.
Charleston was led by McManus who had 20 points and five rebounds,Colbert added 15, and Gable scored 11. UC shot 50 percent from the field, 33 percent (6-18) from the 3-point line, and 59 percent (13-22) at the free throw line. They also had 12 assists, and 12 turnovers as well. The Golden Eagles won the rebounding battle 37-25.
Richmond gave his final thoughts on this one:
" Charleston is a really good team. They are very well coached, and solid. They are hard to play against. This is how it has gone for us the last three games. In the games we have lost this season they have all been two or three possession games. We just need to fix a couple possessions here and there. We have played everyone in the league once now so we are familiar with everybody. We fix those things and these losses can turn into wins."
NDC will be back in action Wednesday when they host Wheeling University. Tip time is slated for 7:30 PM inside Murphy Gym.
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
Fairmont State 100 West Liberty 97
Wheeling 97 Frostburg State 80
West Virginia Wesleyan 97 Glenville State 96
West Virginia State 81 Alderson Broaddus 68
Davis & Elkins 80 Concord 65
MEC Standings:
Charleston 7-1 (11-2)
West Liberty 8-2 (14-2)
Fairmont State 8-2 (13-2)
West Virginia State 6-3 (11-5)
NDC 6-4 (9-7)
Alderson Broaddus 4-5 (7-6)
Concord 4-6 (6-9)
Wheeling 4-6 (5-11)
Glenville State 3-6 (6-7)
Davis & Elkins 3-6 (5-9)
Frostburg State 3-7 (5-11)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-9 (2-14)
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