It had been 300 days since the last time the Notre Dame College Falcons had played a basketball game before Thursday night. They looked good in spurts and held a 30-29 lead after a Jordan Roland jumper with 5:40 in the half at the Athletic Sport and Recreational Center "ASRC. but the eighth ranked Hilltoppers would ultimately come away with a 98-77 win in the opener for both teams of the 16 game conference only schedule.
NDC was led by a career high 24 points from lone returning starter Jordan Burton- and- Roland added 17 to go along with six rebounds in the defeat. NDC had just four assists- and- 18 turnovers in the contest. Coach Mark Richmond was happy to be back out there but was not happy with a couple things:
" I thought we competed for the most part, we've got to be much more together as a team. It wasn't unexpected because it's the first game but we can't be just a bunch of individuals out there. Four assists and 18 turnovers won't beat any team in our league. We have plenty to work on but I am glad we were able to get back out there and play someone else,"Richmond explained.
A Roland 3-pointer and a jumper by Elijah Barnettt gave NDC a 5-2 lead in the early going. After a 6-0 WLU run NDC would get back to back 3-pointers by Burton to take a 11-8 lead with 14:14 in the opening stanza. After a Roland jumper at the 9:32 mark of the first half the score was knotted at 21. West Liberty would then go on top 29-22 after at pair of Bolon free throws. NDC then took the lead after a pair of Tyland Crawford 3-pointer's and aat Roland jumper made it 30-29 at the 5:40 mark of first half. The Hilltoppers would close the half on a 17-6 spurt that made it 46-36 at the intermission.
NDC shot 43 percent from the field- and- 58 percent (7-12) from the 3-point line in the first 20 minutes. They shot 60 percent (3-5) from the free throw line in the half. Burton led the way with 16- while Roland had seven in the first half. NDC had just one assist and nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Pat Robinson scored 18- and- Bolon 10 for the Toppers in the opening stanza. They shot 45 percent from the field- and- 17 percent (1-6) from the 3-point line in the opening half. WLU shot 79 percent (11-14) at the free throw line- had six assists- and- five turnovers in the first half. It was a 27-12 advantage on the boards for West Liberty in the first 20 minutes.
West Liberty would get a Bryce Butler 3-pointer that made the lead 13. Elijah Barnett would cut the lead to 11 after a jumper for NDC, but then the Hilltoppers used its full court pressure to ignite a 15-1 run that stretched the lead to 25 (66-41) with 13:36 to go. The Falcons would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.
Burton went 8-13 from the field- and 3 of 5 from the 3-point line on his way to 24 points, while Roland went 7-14 from the field- and- 2 of 5 from the 3-point line, Roland added a team high six rebounds. NDC shot 50 percent from the field in the game- 47 percent (9-17) from the 3-poiwnt line- and- 75 percent (12-16) from the free throw line. The Falcons were out rebounded 44-29w which did not make Coach Richmond happy. Here were his thoughts on that:
" I wasn't happy with our effort on the glass. We should be a good rebounding team. We've got to be much more together as a team. We have plenty to work on."
The Hilltoppers were led by four players in double figures. Robinson scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half- while Bolon recorded 20 points- and- 10 rebounds. Bryce Butler added 18- and- Malik McKinney scored 10. West Liberty shot 49 percent from the floor- 33 percent (5-15) from the 3-point line- and- 81 percent (17-21) from the free throw line. Marlon Moore had three of the teams seven blocked shots. They tallied 14 assists- and- eight turnovers as a team.
NDC will be back in action on Sunday when they take on Wheeling in the home opener. Tip time is set for about 45 minutes after the 2:00 PM women's game. As always you can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com and MEC.TV
Other MEC Scores Thursday:
Concord 64 Charleston 62
Davis & Elkins 108 Frostburg State 100
Glenville State 117 West Virginia State 114
Fairmont State 110 West Virginia Wesleyan 85
Alderson Broaddus 85 Wheeling 79
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 1-0
Fairmont State 1-0
Concord 1-0C
Glenville State 1-0
Alderson Broaddus 1-0
Davis &Elkins 1-0
West Virginia State 0-1
Frostburg State 0-1
NDC 0-1
Charleston 0-1
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-1
Wheeling 0-1
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