The Notre Dame College Falcons and Fairmont State Fighting Falcons battled for 40 minutes on Friday night. In the end after a late NDC rally in a game that featured 5 ties and 12 lead changes the Fighting Falcons came up with a 67-65 win.
NDC head coach Mark Richmond talked about it post game:
"It was obviously a tough result tonight. The guys really battled, "Richmond mentioned. "We got going late and ran out of time. We got in a rhythm going downhill late. We could not get that one more stop or one more score. Games like this can go either way and we just came up short tonight."
The game got off to a slow start for both teams on the offensive end. Zyon Dobbs got Fairmont on the board first before NDC went on a quick 6-0 run capped by a Deairius Barker layup at the 16:30 mark of the opening half. Fairmont then went on top 14-8 on a Myles Monroe jumper with 11:17 in the opening half. NDC would then go on a 10-0 run of their own when Mike Kirkland scored on a layup and a conventional three-point play and a John Godinez triple put the NDC Falcons on top. Kirkland again scored on a layup, as his seventh point of the 10 point run made it 18-14 NDC with 8:56 in the half. Fairmont would go on a 6-0 run to make it 22-20 Fighting Falcons before a Godinez triple at the 3:27 mark of the half put NDC back on top. An Isaiah Sanders hoop with 1:37 in the half put Fairmont State on top 32-27. A Jaedon Willis 3-pointer on the ensuing possession cut the Fairmont lead to two. Cole Von Handorf made a layup but a Barker 3-ball with 17 seconds left in the half would make it a 34-33 NDC deficit going into the locker room.
NDC was led by Godinez with eight and Barker with seven in the opening stanza. They shot 42 percent from the field, 44 percent (4-9) from the 3-point line and went a perfect three of three at the free throw line. They led on the glass 17-16 and had nine assists to go along with 10 turnovers in the opening stanza.
Fairmont was led by Sanders with 13 and George Mangas with nine in the opening half. They shot 46 percent from the field, 46 percent (5-11) from the 3-point line and 50 percent (3-6) from the free throw line in the half. They had seven assists and 10 turnovers in the half.
NDC junior Mike Sampson talked about Fairmont not having Seth Younkin (injured) in the middle:
"It definitely changed our game plan, "Sampson mentioned.
Coach Richmond talked about the turnovers in the first half:
"We got stuck on the baseline a few times. We tried to hit home runs agains the zone and we had to many turnovers in the first five or six seconds of the clock."
Sampson added:
"We also did not attack the middle as much as we should have."
NDC took the lead back after a jumper by Willis to start the second half. The next five points went to Fairmont before NDC scored the next five as a Sampson 3-pointer at the 15:46 mark made it 40-39 NDC. The lead would then change hands before Fairmont went up 48-43 on a Dobbs layup with 10:56 on the clock. Sanders put Fairmont up eight (53-45) but Daylin Lee and Sampson would score to cut the lead in half with 8:03 remaining. Briggs Parris knocked down a triple and a basket by Von Handorf stretched the lead to nine. Mangas made a pair of free throws and it was 60-51 Fairmont with 6:24 to go. At the 6:24 mark NDC made a defensive change they have been making all season. Sampson spoke about that:
"Shout out to coach for going to the 1-3-1. We have been doing it all year and it has worked for us for the most part. I just try and use my athletic ability to get deflections."
Willis made a layup and NDC got another hoop on a layup to pull within five (60-55) with 3:48 to go. A pair of Sanders free throws made it a seven point game. Willis and Mangas would trade baskets to make it 64-57. Willis made a layup, NDC got a stop at the other end, and a layup by Sampson made it a 64-61 game with 1:29 on the clock. A Lee layup off a Godinez dish with 52 seconds trimmed the lead to one (64-63.) Mangas then made a pair of clutch free throws with 24 ticks remaining. A Lee layup with four seconds again made it a one point game. Sanders made the first free throw and with NDC out of timeouts missed the second, A desperation heave by Lee came up short as time expired.
Richmond talked about turnovers and the tempo of the game:
"We did not do a good job of taking care of the ball. The 17 turnovers were a big key tonight and way more than we have had in most games this season. As for the tempo I thought it was going to be in the 80s like it was the first two times we played these guys. We definitely left some baskets out there. We missed four or five layups tonight"
Sampson reflected:
"Obviously a tough loss. We just did not get it done."
NDC had four players score in double figures in this one. Willis had 13, while Sampson added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Godinez was five of six from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts to score his 12 points to go with four assists. Kirkland also scored 12 off the bench. NDC shot 42 percent in the game, 36 percent (5-14) from the 3-point line and went six of six at the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 38-32. The NDC Falcons had 15 assists and 17 turnovers on the game.
Fairmont was led by Mangas who led all scorers with 22, Sanders tallied 18 to go with nine rebounds, and Dobbs netted 11. They shot 40 percent as a team, 32 percent (6-19) from the 3-point line and 75 percent (15-20) from the free throw line. They had 15 assists and 13 turnovers on the night.
With the win Fairmont improves to 23-6 and will advance to Saturday's semifinals to face West Liberty at 6 PM. NDC sees the season come to a close at 15-14.
Richmond reflected on the season:
"I definitely appreciated the guys approach and effort this year. We are starting to build this thing the right way. We had to battle some adversity whether it was a twisted ankle or something different. We got better on the road this season. We had some rough patches that obviously had to do with who we were playing at times and we had some big wins at home. Particularly the one against #7 West Liberty early in the season and the one against #10 Fairmont at our place."
Other MEC Quarterfinal Scores:
Alderson Broaddus 95 West Virginia State 87
Charleston 88 Concord 84
West Liberty 89 Wheeling 81
MEC Semifinals Saturday:
Atlantic Regional Rankings:
West Liberty
Indiana (PA)
Cal (PA)
West Virginia State
MercyHurst
Fairmont State
Pitt-Johnstown
Millersville
Virginia Union
Charleston
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