The Notre Dame College Falcons (14-8 10-6 MEC) will do battle with the Fairmont State Falcons (17-5 12-4 MEC) on Wednesday at Joe Retton Arena.Tip time is slated for 7:30 PM. You can catch all the action on the MountainEast Conference Digital Network at MountainEast.TV
In the first meeting between the two teams Fairmont came way with an 88-79 win. In that game on 1.7 Fonz Hale led Fairmont with 20, Isaiah Sanders and Briggs Parris each netted 18, Tariq Woody tallied a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds,) while Zyon Dobbs scored 10 and dished out six assists.
On the NDC side of the ledger Daylin Lee scored 18, Jaedon Willis added 16, and Tyland Crawford scored 12.
"They already beat us on our home floor so the urgency of this one is key, "NDC forward Obinna Ugwuakazi mentioned. "We need to go into this one unselfish and as a team because Fairmont is coming to play on there home court."
"Important road game at Fairmont State on Wednesday night, "NDC head coach Mark Richmond stated. "We let them play their game at our place last time. We will have to do a better job taking them out of their rhythm this time. They are very powerful offensively so we will need to find a way to get some stops."
NDC is coming off a 1-1 week. They knocked off West Virginia Wesleyan 69-63 on the road on Wednesday before coming home and falling 78-63 to Davis& Elkins Saturday. Willis led the team last week as he has all season in scoring as he put up 21 points in the win over the Bobcats and 27 in the loss to D&E. Jamarr Talbert scored 14 in the win against the Bobcats and averaged nine points per game last week. Gbolahan Adio scored 11 against WVWC as well in the victory. Tyland Crawford averaged 10 points per game last week as he put up 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss to the Senators. In the win over WVWC Crawford scored eight. Ugwuakazi scored in double figures as well putting up 10 on Saturday against the Senators.
He talked about tomorrow night:
"We need to go back to the basics. Limiting our turnovers and rebounding the ball at a high level is a key."
As a team NDC scores an MEC fifth best 82.9 points per game while they allow an MEC second best 75.4 points per night. They shoot 44.4 percent which is 10th in the MEC while they are the best in the conference at opponent field goal percentage (41.6 percent.) NDC is third in 3-point percentage (37.2 percent) while they have shut down the 3-point line on the defensive end holding the opposition to an MEC best 28.2 percent from 3-point land. NDC is the top free throw shooting team in the MEC as they shoot 77.8 percent from the foul line. On the glass NDC is seventh in the MEC as they edge the opposition by 0.1 (38.9-38.8) rebounds per night.
Willis paces the season box score as he has all season long. The Baltimore native puts up 22.2 points per game which is second in the MEC and 12th in the country. He is 15th in all of DII with 488 total points this season and is third in the country at the free throw line with 139 makes on 155 free throw attempts. That 89.7 percent shooting clip from the free throw line is second in the conference as well. The senior shoots 41.1 percent from the 3-point line which is fourth in the MEC, and makes 3.0 3-pointer's per contest which is fourth in the MEC. He is also ninth in minutes played at 32.2 per contest. His 44.4 percent shooting clip from the field is also good for 10th in the MEC. DeAirius Barker is second on the team in scoring as he tallies 11.4 points per game. The redshirt sophomore is tied for ninth in the MEC dishing out 3.4 assists per night which leads the team. Ugwuakazi leads NDC in rebounding hauling in 5.2 rebounds per contest.
Fairmont State is coming off a 92-86 win over Concord last time out. Isaiah Sanders led five players in double figures with 20. Briggs Parris netted 18, David Jolinder notched 14, Tariq Woody added 13, and Fonz Hale scored 12. In the previous game, a 85-84 loss in overtime to Glenville State Sanders had 23, Dobbs added 18, and George Mangas notched 17.
"NDC is a really good team, "Fairmont State head coach Tim Koenig said. We have to play really well. We have to rebound and take care of the ball. NDC is really good in transition and has really good players."
Sanders leads Fairmont scoring an MEC sixth best 18.6 points per game. The Sickerville, New Jersey native shoots 47.6 percent from the field which is ninth in the MEC. He leads the conference in 3-point percentage (45 percent) and 3-pointer's per game (3.3.) Mangas averages 14.7 points per game and grabs a team leading 5.3 rebounds per night. Mangas shoots an MEC fourth best 59.4 percent from the field. Hale nets 12.8 points per game and Parris tallies 12.4 per game. Dobbs rounds out the double digit scorers at 11 per game. He leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game and is third in the MEC as well as leads the team in assists dishing out 5.1 per contest. David Jolinder leads Fairmont and is ninth in the MEC blocking 0.9 shots per game.
"NDC is a really good team and it will be a battle, "Sanders explained. "Both sides are highly talented and extremely competitive. It will be a good basketball atmosphere on Wednesday night."
As a team Fairmont scores an MEC second best 93.2 points per game. That is good for fourth in the country. On the defensive end the Fairmont State Falcons give up 79.4 points per night which is fifth in the MEC. Fairmont State shoots 50.1 percent from the field which leads the MEC and defensively they are third allowing the opposition to shoot 42.6 percent. They also lead the conference shooting at a 39.7 percent clip from the 3-point line. The opposition shoots 37.2 percent against Fairmont which is ninth in the conference. FSU is second behind NDC in free throw percentage (77.1 percent.) On the glass they are third getting 3.7 (40.3-36.6) more boards than the opposition.
Ugwuakazi talked about this one:
"I hope we are all looking to pick up the workload tomorrow. I know I will be."
Richmond gave the final thought:
"It will take a monumental effort to go down there and win but I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge."
Other MEC Games Wednesday:
West Liberty @ Glenville State
West Virginia State @ Davis & Elkins
Charleston @ West Virginia Wesleyan
Wheeling @ Concord
Alderson Broaddus @ Frostburg State
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 14-2 (19-3)
Fairmont State 12-4 (17-5)
Charleston 12-4 (15-7)
West Virginia State 10-6 (16-6)
NDC 10-6 (14-8)
Glenville State 9-7 (13-9)
Concord 8-8 (11-10)
Davis & Elkins 7-9 (13-9)
Alderson Broaddus 6-10 (8-13)
Frostburg State 3-13 (7-15)
Wheeling 3-13 (5-17)
West Virginia Wesleyan 2-14 (2-18)
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