The Notre Dame College Falcons started 2019-20 on a high note as they used a 19-2 run to end the first half and start the second half-then hung on for a 80-67 win inside Murphy Gym on Sunday. With the win NDC improves to 3-9 and 1-5 in the MEC. The loss dropped Salem to 7-7 on the year.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about the run that swung the game:
"I did not realize that it was a 19-2 run. We got contributions from everyone today. The three things that were the difference in the game though were free throw shooting- rebounding- and- defending the 3-point line. Salem shot 41 three's which was a lot more than I expected as they have attacked the rim a lot of late but we really contested shots today. They were 3-20 from the 3-point line in the half. Obviously they just missed some but the defense was good. Thought winning rebounding would be a key as well. Did not think we would be +16 like we were but that was a big difference."Richmond said.
He also talked about the emotion this week:
"It was a really emotional week with what happened with Mike (redshirt) Mike Simpson whose heart collapsed over break.) The guys really came out and played inspired today to get us this win. "
NDC (3-9 1-5 MEC) was led by four players in double figures. Drew Scarberry paced the Falcons with 21 points- DeAnthony Owens added 18- Levi Frankland scored 14- and- Dan Lott went three of three from the 3-point line- and- contributed 11 points off the bench. The Falcons shot 42 percent as a team- 37 percent from the 3-point line- and- 83 percent (20-24) from the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 47-31. They had 14 assists- and- 14 turnovers as a team.
Richmond talked about the back court today and what they meant in this win:
" Jordan really got going in the first half distributing the ball. He had five assists in the first half- guess he did not have any in the second but they played predominantly zone against us. With Larenz being out Jordan had to play the full 40 minutes. He was running on fumes at the end but he also had seven rebounds. It was good for our team to hit the reset button in the New Year. We are hoping to get Larenz and Sala back here shortly. Bruce will do whatever it takes to win. He is the definition of a glue guy. He also had seven rebounds- a big steal- and- a ton of hustle plays."
Hodges talked about winning this one for his teammate:
This one was for Mike (redshirt Mike Simpson whose heart collapsed over break.. It was a big win. We played 40 minutes today even through some mishaps we bounced back- and- won."Hodges mentioned.
Salem (7-7) was paced by Cleveland native Shawn Christian who scored 17 points- Jordan Forbes- and- Maple Heights product Fonz Hale each had 14- while Marko Tutunovic- and- Ralph Diaz each had 10. The Tigers shot 37 percent from the field- 32 percent from the 3-point line (13-41-) and- 80 percent (8-10) from the free throw line. The Tigers had 13 assists- and- 13 turnovers as a team.
Frankland gave his thoughts after the win:
" Great win today. We still got some things to fix. We have to eliminate the bad stretches. Overall we played hard as a group though."
NDC would get a pair of Owens free throws at the 15 minute mark of the opening half that gave them a 9-8 lead. It was a closely played half and the game would be knotted at 19 with 9:14 to go in the opening stanza. Lott would give the Falcons a 3-point lead on his first of three triples before Jordan Forbes answered to tie the game at 22. Hale would hit another three to get the people who made the trip from Maple Heights on there feet and give the Tigers the lead back. After some more back and forth action the Falcons would get a 3-pointer from Scarberry right at the halftime buzzer to give the Falcons a 39-38 halftime lead.
The Falcons were led in the opening half by Scarberry with 14 points- while Lott added eight. NDC shot 37 percent from the field- 33 percent from the 3-point line (5-15-) and- 89 percent (8-9) at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 24-16 in the first 20 minutes. They had seven assists- and- five turnovers in the half.
Salem was led by Christian with 12 points in the opening half- while Hale had nine- and- Tutunovic added seven. The Tigers shot 40 percent in the opening half- 48 percent from the 3-point line (10-21-) and- were a perfect four of four at the free throw line. The Tigers had nine assists- and- six turnovers as a team in the first 20 minutes.
The Falcons came out hot in the second half as they continued the momentum from the Scarberry triple. He would hit another followed by a Frankland 3-ball. After a Scarberry tip in Owens would score the next four points after a free throw-and- three pointer. NDC would stretch the lead to 16 (59-43) after a Burton lay up at the 11:50 mark of this one. Lott would hit his third triple in as many attempts- and- then another 3-pointer by Frankland made it 65-47 with 9:48 remaining. The lead was back to 18 (68-50) at the 7:42 mark after a free throw by Owens. A 9-0 run by the Tigers cut the lead back to single digits (68-59) after a Hale basket at the 4:48 mark. Forbes would knock down a pair of free throws and it was 68-61 with 3:55 to go. A pair of Scarberry free throws and a basket by Frankland would give the Falcons the cushion that they would need. A Hale 3-pointer at the 1:27 mark cut it to eight but that is as close as the Tigers would get as the Falcons secured the victory.
Scarberry recapped the win:
" It was an overall great team effort! I feel like this game we played hard the whole 40 minutes which was great to see."
Richmond agreed:
"We played together today. Everyone who played contributed. We made some plays late when we needed to. We had some key baskets. Bruce had a big post-up- Burton had a big offensive rebound- and we pulled this one out.As was said earlier it was a really emotional week with what happened to Mike and the guys really played inspired today."
NDC will jump back into MEC play when they travel to Frostburg State. Tip time for Wednesday is set for 7:30 PM.
Other MEC Scores:
Saint Augustine 103 Glenville State 82 (Fri)
Fairmont State 123 Carlow 48 (Sat)
Charleston 68 Bluefield State 43 (Sat)
Frostburg State 96 Cheyney 64 (Sat)
West Virginia Wesleyan 79 West Virginia Tech 72
MEC Standings:
Glenville State 5-1 (8-4)
Charleston 4-2 (10-2)
Fairmont State 4-2 (9-2)
West Liberty 4-2 (9-3)
West Virginia Wesleyan 4-2 (5-7)
West Virginia State 3-3 (8-3)
Wheeling 3-3 (6-4)
Frostburg State 2-4 (5-7)
Concord 2-4 (4-7)
Davis &Elkins 2-4 (4-8)
Urbana 2-4 (3-9)
NDC 1-5 (3-9)
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