The Notre Dame College Falcons are not the first team to suffer a devastating loss- and- they will not be the last.
Coach Tim Koenig put it into context:
" Our guys have a great attitude. We had a good practice Thursday- and- we will get after it today. Their are plenty of stories about teams that have suffered tough losses like we did on Wednesday. The Miami miracle happened this season (when the Patriots lost after a series of laterals on the last play of the game.) They are doing ok- they are in the Super Bowl again." Koenig said.
On Saturday the Falcons will welcome Charleston to Murphy Gym. Tip time is set for 4 PM and you can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com
NDC guard Bruce Hodges talked about how big this one will be:
" Tomorrow is a big game- a real big game. Coming off a loss the way we did there's going to be a vengeance out there from NDC. The plan is to go 1-0." Hodges said.
NDC (13-6 9-4 MEC) is coming off the afformentioned 108-106 loss to West Virginia State on Wednesday. Will Vorhees led the Falcons with 32 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat. Larenz Thurman scored 26- Halil Parks netted 19- and- Drew Scarberry 13 in the contest. NDC shot 59 percent as a team- 41 percent (11-27) from the 3-point line- and- 90 percent (27-30) from the free throw line. Each team had 30 rebounds in the contest.
In the first meeting between NDC and Charleston on December 8th the Falcons fell 86-81 in overtime. Vorhees led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds- Scarberry knocked down five 3-pointer's on his way to 18- Isaiah Sanders netted 14- and-Parks collected 11. In that game the Falcons shot 42 percent as a team- 35 percent (10-29) from the 3-point line- and- 79 percent (19-24) from the free throw line.
As a team the Falcons are scoring a league sixth best 86.8 points per game- while defensively they are fourth in the MEC allowing 79.5 points per game. The Falcons also average 3.5 blocks as a team.
Vorhees leads the season box score putting up 25.6 points per game- and- a team leading 10.9 rebounds a game. Thurman has also been a vital part of the Falcons offense putting up 19.1 points per game- to go along with 3.9 assists per contest. Parks is also averaging in double figures at 11.2 per game.
Koenig talked about the difference that Hodges has made especially on the defensive end:
" We had some things not go our way in the last game. I do not have any doubt that we will bounce back. We need to keep Bruce on the floor- keep him out of foul trouble. It is no secret that we are a better defensive team when Bruce is on the floor. He was in foul trouble- and- fouled out in the first Charleston meeting- and- we were not as good defensively. It is no coincidence that the last 10 minutes on Wednesday we were not good defensively while Bruce was not on the floor. It is that simple. You will not find any highlight clips of our defense from that game.
Charleston (13-6 8-5 MEC) is coming off a 87-58 thumping of Urbana on Wednesday. Josh Floyd led six Golden Eagles in double figures with 19 points. Seth O'Neal scored 17- Devon Robinson had 14- Adam Tra'Ore chipped in 13- Drew Rackley posted 11- and- LaMont McManus also scored in double figures with 10. The Golden Eagles shot 57 percent as a team- 35 percent (6-17) from the 3-point line- and- 94 percent (15-16) from the free throw line.
In the first meeting between the two teams Charleston was led by Rackley with 23- Floyd added 17- while Robinson and O'Neal netted 14 points each. The Golden Eagles shot 41 percent as a team- 48 percent (10-21) from the 3-point line in that win. They shot 75 percent (20-27) from the free throw line.
Individually the Golden Eagles have five players averaging in double figures. Rackley scores 22.5 points per game as he is shooting 41 percent from the 3-point line on the year. Robinson scores 13.6 per game- and- a team leading 9.1 rebounds per night. McManus puts up 13.3 points per night- while Tra'Ore and Floyd each score 12.7 points per night. O'Neal leads the Golden Eagles in assists at 4.2 per game.
Koenig talked about the challenges of facing Charleston:
"They are a really good team. They are 13-6 for a reason. They are a really good rebounding team. Robinson is really good on the glass- the guards are really good on the glass as well. They are really hard to guard. We just need to go out and execute. We all really look forward to the challenge- and- can't wait to play this game."
Other MEC Games Saturday:
West Virginia State @ Urbana
Virginia Wise @ Glenville State
Shepherd @Wheeling Jesuit
Fairmont State @West Liberty
Concord @ West Virginia Wesleyan
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 12-1 (16-2)
Fairmont State 12-1 (15-4)
Concord 9-4 (14-5)
NDC 9-4 (13-6)
Charleston 8-5 (13-6)
West Virginia State 7-6 (10-9)
Shepherd 6-7 (10-9)
West Virginia Wesleyan 5-8 (8-11)
Virginia Wise 4-9 (6-12)
Urbana 3-10 (5-12)
Glenville State 2-11 (7-12)
Wheeling Jesuit 1-12 (2-17)
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