The short-handed Notre Dame College Falcons (10-7 7-5 MEC) got back in the win column at home Saturday as they rolled past Alderson Broaddus 79-61 (4-12 3-9 MEC) at Murphy Gym Saturday.
"We were ready to play from the jump tonight, "NDC head coach Mark Richmond mentioned. "Offensively we were able to out-rebound them which is no small feat. We were ready defensively as well and obviously that helped us get the result that we were looking for."
"Great team effort today, "graduate student Tyland Crawford stated. We shared the ball really well and everyone got to eat. Shoutout to Obi (Ugwuakazi) and Isaiah (Sanders) for stepping up today. Both were good around the rim and were solid on the defensive end. Anytime you hold a team under 30 in a half it makes everything a lot easier."
"Much needed win tonight, "Ugwuakazi said. "Zay (Sanders) really held it down. It's only up from here for him. Good game all around."
The Falcons got off to a hot start for the second consecutive game. The Falcons hit the first four 3-pointer's they attempted as a 3-pointer by Jaedon Willis made it 13-4 NDC with 15:42 to go in the opening half. After the Falcons held a 20-9 advantage the Battlers would go on a 7-0 run to trim the lead to 20-16 after a Jon King layup with 8:48 in the half. NDC led 25-22 and went on a quick 5-0 spurt as Ugwuakazi had an old fashioned three point play and Willis hit a jumper at the 6:39 mark of the first stanza. NDC would stretch the lead to 14 (37-23) before the two teams traded buckets to end the frame. NDC took a 39-29 lead into the halftime break.
NDC was paced by Willis with 10 points in the opening half, Ugwuakazi scored nine and grabbed five rebounds, Crawford added seven and three assists, and Barker chipped in six. As a team NDC shot 50 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, 44.4 percent (4-9) from the 3-point line, and 78.6 percent (11-14) from the free throw line. They had seven assists and eight turnovers in the frame.
For AB the trio of King, Zach Collins, and Coryon Rice all had six in the first half. Collins led the team on the glass with five in the first stanza. They shot 37.9 percent from the field, 26.7 percent (4-15) from the 3-point line, and 60 percent (3-5) from the free throw line in the half. They had five assists and turned it over eight times.
Richmond talked about the first half:
"We were ready to play defensively. That got us going on the offensive end. We got some stops and run outs which are always key. Our guys made plays. In the first half we got off to a good start and to hold that team to 61 points is impressive. They had been playing well. Just like us they had been playing some good teams of late but they were in every one of those games.
Richmond then talked about the minutes he got from Isaiah Sanders tonight: (Sanders had seven points, a pair of rebounds, and three steals today:)
"We had been waiting for Zay to get his opportunity. He really competes in practice and has some strength and weight on him. We have wanted to get him in the game for a while, he is just learning. He did a good job at both ends. He scored in key situations and is a guy who has been here for a few years. He has put the time in and I was happy to see that it paid off today."
Talbert agreed:
"I think guys like Zay (Sanders) came in and had a big impact on this game."
AB would pull to within seven (41-34) after a Tahliek Walker 3-pointer 1:18 into the second half. The Battlers would pull to within six (48-42) after a King layup at the 15:24 mark. That was when Crawford stole the ball and threw down a dunk with two hands.
He talked about this sparking his team:
"AB cut it closer there. I knew I had to give the guys a spark with that dunk which carried over for the rest of the game. Great 2-0 week."
After a King free throw Darrius Bush knocked down a triple to stretch the lead to double digits. NDC would stretch the lead to 16 and cruise to the victory from that point on.
NDC saw all five starters score in double figures in this one. Willis led the way with 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. DeAirius Barker added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Ugwuakazi added a career high 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Crawford had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists and Talbert chipped in 10.
The Falcons shot 49.1 percent from the field, 47.1 percent (8-17) from the 3-point line and 81 percent (17-21) from the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 35-34. They also had 13 assists and 13 turnovers in this one.
Richmond talked about finding the five guys (Barker, Willis, Talbert, Crawford, and Ugwuakazi) to finish the game in the last week or so:
"I think I just need to do a good job during the game of getting those guys some rest so they don't start dragging the last five minutes of the game. Those guys (the starting five) did a nice job of closing out the game today. I think we learned from the Wheeling game on Wednesday. It was a 10-12 point game like this one and we did not do as good of a job as we would have liked closing it out but we did a much better job today of slamming the door."
The Battlers were led by King with 21, while Walker and Knott each had nine. Rice added seven.
Richmond talked about the defensive job on Knott who went 3 of 13 from the floor and one of nine from three tonight:
"We wanted to make it difficult for him. We didn't give him much air space. We had several guys guard him, they all made it tough on him. "
He then talked about his team maturing:
"It is all part of the maturation process. We have a good group of guys who are unselfish. This is a team sport and they all need to use one another. We have done better at that the last few games, we have to get to the free throw line if we are going to be the team we want to be."
As a team the Battlers shot 35.7 percent from the field, 19.2 percent (5-26) from the 3-point line, and 69.6 percent (16-23) at the free throw line. They had eight assists and 15 turnovers in the contest.
Talbert gave the final thoughts after this one:
"I think this game showed how deep our bench is. With a few guys out we had some others step up and play a big part in the win today. Coach has preached to us since the beginning next man up. Just be ready when your number is called."
NDC will be back in action right back at Murphy Gym Wednesday night when they play Concord. Tip time is slated for 7:30 PM.
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
Glenville State 81 Concord 79
Fairmont State 101 Frostburg State 77
Wheeling 114 West Liberty 107
Davis & Elkins 70 West Virginia Wesleyan 53
Charleston 86 West Virginia State 83
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 10-2 (15-3)
Charleston 10-2 (13-5)
West Virginia State 9-3 (15-3)
Fairmont State 9-3 (14-4)
Glenville State 8-4 (12-6)
Concord 7-5 (10-7)
NDC 7-5 (10-7)
Davis & Elkins 4-8 (10-8)
Alderson Broaddus 3-9 (4-12)
Wheeling 2-10 (4-14)
West Virginia Wesleyan 2-10 (2-14)
Frostburg State 1-11 (5-13)
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