The Notre Dame College Falcons will close the 2021-22 regular season on Saturday when they take on the Alderson Broaddus University Battlers at Murphy Gym in a rematch of a game that AB won 71-70 in Philliphi, West Va on January 22nd. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 PM. As has been the case all season long you can catch all the action on the Mountain East Digital Network at MountainEast.TV
NDC head coach Mark Richmond talked about what's ahead:
"Hard to believe it will be our last game in Murphy Gymnasium this season on Saturday against AB, "Richmond stated. " I hope we have a great crowd because this group has continued to work and improve all season. I know the guys are excited for Saturday and then ready to roll right into the MEC Tournament. Our first priority is to play our best basketball on Saturday against AB. "
NDC (15-12 12-9 MEC) has lost three straight, the most recent being a 105-88 loss at #2 West Liberty on Wednesday. Four Falcons scored at least 16 points in that contest. Both Daylin Lee and Mike Sampson netted 18, while the duo of Tyland Crawford and Jaedon Willis scored 16. NDC shot 43 percent from the field, 47 percent (9-19) from the 3-point line, and 75 percent (21-28) from the free throw line against the top team in the Atlantic Region. NDC did age the Hilltoppers on the boards 36-35, but turned the ball over 22 times as opposed to 12 assists.
As far as the conference goes NDC is seventh in the MEC scoring 79.9 points per game while on the defensive end they are giving up an MEC fourth best 79.4 points per night. The Falcons are eighth in the MEC in field goal percentage (46.4 percent) while the opposition is also shooting 46.4 percent which is fifth in the MEC. The Falcons are shooting 36.9 percent from the 3-point line which is fourth in the MEC while the opponents are shooting an MEC seventh best 35.4 percent from distance. NDC is shooting an MEC fifth best 74.2 percent from the free throw line on the year. As far as rebounding goes the Falcons are eighth in the conference being out rebounded by 1.4 (34.5-35.9) boards per contest. NDC is sixth in the MEC dishing out 14.85 assists per night.
Willis continues to lead the team on offense as he has all season long. The junior from Baltimore is fourth in the MEC scoring 20.8 points per game which is 25th in the country. His 562 points on the season are 11th in all of Division II. Willis also leads the team in assists at 3.1 per contest, is third in the MEC shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line and is second in the MEC making three 3-pointer's per game which is 31st in the country. Willis shoots at an 82.9 percent clip from the free throw line which is sixth in the MEC. His 146 free throw makes are 23rd in the country.Crawford is averaging 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per night on year. Sampson is scoring 10.9 points per game and is sixth in the MEC grabbing eight rebounds per night. The junior from Houston is also leading the team getting 1.9 steals per contest.
In the first meeting with the Battlers Willis scored 21 while Crawford added 17. Sampson had a team high 12 rebounds in that one as well. In that contest shot 41 percent from the field. 32 percent (8-25) from the 3-point line, and 67 percent (10-15) from the free throw line. They also won the rebounding battle 35-29. The Falcons had 14 assists and 12 turnovers in that game.
Richmond talked about it:
"We lost a close game at their place just over a month ago. We will need a complete effort to close out our regular season on a positive note on Saturday."
The Battlers (11-15 8-13 MEC) come into Saturday having lost five straight. The last time out on Wednesday they were a 85-82 loser at Wheeling. With that loss AB dropped to 3-9 on the road for the season. Jalen Knott led AB with 25 points, Vincent Smalls netted 14, and John Grayson tallied 12. As a team they shot 51 percent from the field, 47 percent (9-19) from the 3-point line, and 61 percent (11-18) at the free throw line. AB is ninth in the MEC scoring 78 points per night while on the defensive end they are giving up an MEC seventh best 81.7 points per contest. They shoot an MEC fourth best 48.2 percent from the field while the opposition shoots an MEC eight best 47.6 percent from the field. The Battlers are 11th in the conference shooting 31.5 percent from the 3-point line, while they are 10th shooting 67.5 percent at the free throw line. On the glass AB is ninth in the conference being out rebounded by 2.1 (32.3-34.4) rebounds per contest. They average 14.5 assists a game which is eighth in the conference as well. KJ Walker leads AB in scoring at 14.5 points per game and is third in the MEC dishing out 4.8 assists per night as well as shooting an MEC sixth best 53 percent from the field. Collins is the only other Battler to average double figures at 11.9 points per night. He is also ninth in the MEC shooting 51 percent from the field. Grayson leads the team on the boards getting six per night. In the first meeting with the Falcons Zach Simpkins led AB with 17, Knott added 16, and Smalls tallied 11. AB shot 51 percent from the field, 35 percent (8-23) from the 3-point line, and 56 percent (5-9) from the free throw line. They had 14 assists and 12 turnovers in the 71-70 win.
Other MEC Games Saturday:
Davis & Elkins @ West Virginia Wesleyan
Charleston @ West Virginia State
Fairmont State @ Frostburg State
Concord @ Glenville State
West Liberty @ Wheeling
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 19-2 (25-2)
West Virginia State 17-4 (22-6)
Charleston 17-4 (22-5)
Fairmont State 16-5 (21-5)
NDC 12-9 (15-12)
Concord 10-11 (13-14)
Glenville State 8-13 (12-14)
Alderson Broaddus 8-13 (11-15)
Wheeling 8-13 (9-18)
Davis & Elkins 5-16 (7-20)
Frostburg State 5-16 (7-20)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-20 (2-25)
Atlantic Region Rankings (Updated Wednesday)
West Liberty 24-2 (22-2 in Region)
Indiana (PA) 23-2 (23-2 in Region)
Fairmont State 20-5 (19-5 in Region)
Cal (PA) 18-6 (18-6 in Region)
MercyHurst 21-4 (21-4 in Region)
Pitt-Johnstown 18-7 (18-7 in Region)
Millersville 20-5 (20-5 in Region)
West Virginia State 21-6 (19-6 in Region)
Virginia Union 21-6 (21-6 in Region)
Charleston 20-5 (20-5 in Region)
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