The Notre Dame College Falcons hit the road for a Saturday match up with the Glenville State College Pioneers. The game is slated to tip at 4 PM from the Waco Center.
Coach Mark Richmond talked about the improvement of his team-its preparation- and- getting a little pay back Saturday:
"Our guys have been doing a good job of taking care of their bodies and preparing game to game. We are playing the right way- and- continue to get better. I feel like we are playing a lot harder than we were at the beginning of the year. We were right there with Glenville the first time we played them- and- feel like we have gotten a lot better since then. It is a game that we have had circled since we played them the first time. We just had a really good home stand and need to continue to play that well. Now we just have to do it on the road."Richmond explained.
NDC (7-12 5-8 MEC) was a 87-79 loser in the first meeting with the Pioneers back on 12/4. DeAnthony Owens paced NDC with 23 points- while Levi Frankland added 19 in the defeat. They shot 55 percent from the field- 40 percent from the 3-point line (10-25-) and- 53 percent (9-17) at the free throw line. Last time out NDC was a 90-73 winner over Concord to sweep a three game home stand that featured double digit wins over Wheeling- Urbana- and- the Mountain Lions. Owens led the way with 25 points and eight rebounds versus Concord- Frankland added 24- and- Scarberry contributed 20. The Falcons shot 57 percent in the contest- 44 percent (11-25) from the 3-point line- and- 85 percent (17-20) from the free throw line. NDC comes into the contest scoring 79.2 points per game which is good for sixth in the MEC- while they allow 79.9 points a game which is good for fifth in the MEC (after holding each of the last three opponents under 75 points.) This will be key against a high powered Glenville offense.
senior Bruce Hodges talked defense:
"Glenville is a very good offensive team- but the goal for me and this team is always the same. To lock the guy I am guarding down- and- play harder than the other team for a full 40 minutes. We took it to Concord early the other night but we did not play a full 40."Hodges stated.
Scarberry agreed:
"We need to carry the momentum from the last home stand with us on the road and into the weekend."Scarberry mentioned.
Frankland paces the Falcons in scoring at 17.8 points per game which is sixth in the MEC. The sophomore from Australia is shooting a MEC seventh best 54 percent from the field- and- is making shots at a 42 percent clip from the 3-point line. Owens is scoring 16.4 points per night- while he is grabbing a team leading 6.8 rebounds per contest. Scarberry continues his run of consecutive double digit games as he is putting up 15.3 points per contest- while he is grabbing 5.8 rebounds per night. Both of those marks are good for top 20 in the conference. Scarberry also is third in the MEC shooting at a 35 percent clip from the 3-point line. Jordan Burton is coming off a seven assist performance on Wednesday- and- is now eighth in the MEC dishing out 3.4 assists per night.
Glenville State College (12-7 9-4 MEC) is in the top half of the MEC standings. Phil Bledsoe scored 21 points- and- grabbed nine rebounds in the win back in December in South Euclid. Hagel Augustin added 17-Tyvon Taylor netted 13- Steven VerPlancken scored 12- while Seth Fallon- and- Rodney Ray each contributed 10 in the win. The Pioneers won the rebounding battle 36-34 in that meeting.
Last time out the Pioneers were a 83-73 overtime winner at Urbana. GSC was led by Verplancken with 22- Augustin had 17- Ty Robinson netted 14- and- Taylor chipped in 12. The Pioneers shot 42 percent from the field- 31 percent from the 3-point line (11-35-) and- 73 percent (8-11) from the free throw line. Offense has not been a problem for the Pioneers as they are second in the MEC scoring 96.6 points per night- but they have struggled defensively where they are 11th in the MEC giving up 89.2 points per night. They are shooting 37 percent as a team from the 3-point line as well. GSC is second in the conference in offensive rebounds- but 11th in the MEC in defensive rebounds. They are third in the MEC in steals getting 8.4 per night- and- have also swatted 4.4 shots a game which is second in the MEC.
Bledsoe leads the Pioneers and the conference in scoring at 21.6 points per game- while he leads the team- and- is also on top in rebounding grabbing 9.4 rebounds per night- which is second in the MEC. Augustin is scoring 14.9 points per night- and- dishing out 3.5 assists per contest- while Verplancken is netting 14.5 points per game- and- dishing out three assists per night. Taylor- and- Rodney are also averaging double figures, at 10.8- and- 10.3 points per game respectively. Ty Robinson is swatting two shots per game.
Other MEC Games Saturday:
Fairmont State @ Charleston
Urbana @ Concord
West Liberty @ West Virginia Wesleyan
Davis & Elkins @ Wheeling
West Virginia State @ Frostburg State
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 11-2 (16-3)
Charleston 10-3 (16-3)
Fairmont State 9-4 (14-4)
Glenville State 9-4 (12-7)
West Virginia State 8-5 (13-5)
Wheeling 6-7 (9-8)
West Virginia Wesleyan 6-7 (7-12)
NDC 5-8 (7-12)
Frostburg State 4-9 (7-12)
Davis & Elkins 4-9 (6-13)
Concord 3-10 (5-13)
Urbana 3-10 (4-15)
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