The Notre Dame College Falcons jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the games first four minutes and last led at the 11:10 mark of the first half but it was not nearly enough as they fell 86-67 to #16 University of Charleston at Murphy Gym on Wednesday night. With the win UC improves to 19-3 and 14-2 to stay atop the MEC. NDC falls to 11-11 and 6-10 in the MEC following the defeat.
"The game got away from us late in the first half and we didn't start the second half the way we needed to. We dug ourselves a big hole at those moments and couldn't get out of it," NDC head coach Mark Richmond explained.
NDC got the scoring started as redshirt sophomore Devin Haid put back an offensive rebound for the first basket of the contest at the 19:11 mark of the first half. Junior Gbolahan Adio and redshirt junior Andre Harris each made a layup and the Falcons led 6-0 four minutes in. UC would take the lead 9-8 after a CJ Meredith hoop with 13:01 in the first half. Haid and Keaton Turner would trade buckets before a pair of Haid free throws gave NDC a 12-11 advantage. After Tyler Eberhart made a pair of free throws Haid put NDC on top 14-13 with a jumper with 11:10 before halftime. RJ Ogom made a free throw to knot the game at 15 with 10:18 in the half.
Richmond talked about the lineup:
"The first group did some good things. What we've been doing at home has not been working so we are trying to find our best lineup. We are looking for different answers. We have to keep adapting when things are not working."
The next three points went to UC before a Harris layup trimmed the lead to one. Another 5-0 run by UC capped by a pair of free throws by Obinna Ugwuakazi made it 23-17 in favor of the road team. Harris then made a layup and was fouled. He converted the free throw to make it a three point (23-20) deficit for NDC with 6:20 until halftime. UC would open up a double digit lead and take a 12 point (42-30) lead into the locker room.
NDC was led by Harris who had 12 and Haid 10 in the opening half. NDC shot 29.7 percent from the field, 14.3 percent (2-14) from the 3-point line and 66.7 percent (6-9) from the free throw line in the opening stanza. They had three assists and five turnovers in the half.
UC was paced by Colbert with 10 and DeAirius Barker with nine in the opening half. They shot 44.4 percent from the field, 36.4 percent (4-11) from the 3-point line, and 85.7 percent (6-7) from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. They led on the boards 26-20 while they had four assists and seven turnovers in the first stanza.
The second half started the opposite of the first four minutes of half number one as UC stretched its lead to 20 (50-30) after a Shunta Wilson layup at the 16:40 mark. NDC would get no closer than 15 the rest of the way as UC completed the season sweep.
NDC was led by Harris who had 17 points and eight rebounds while Haid added 16 in 21 minutes as he was in foul trouble much of the night before fouling out with just under 12 minutes to go. Josh Dames added nine points and five rebounds off the bench. As a team NDC shot 36.5 percent from the floor, 15.4 percent (4-26) from the 3-point line, and 65.4 percent (17-26) from the free throw line. They had 10 assists and 14 turnovers in the contest.
UC was paced by Barker, the former Falcon tallied a game high 27 points, Colbert added 14, Meredith scored 13, and Dwaine Jones netted 10 to go with a team high five assists. Wilson added a game high 10 rebounds to go with his eight points. UC shot 45.3 percent from the field, 22.7 percent (5-22) from the 3-point line, and 95.8 percent (23-24) from the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 41-34. The Golden Eagles had 12 assists and 14 turnovers in the contest.
Richmond talked about UC after this one:
"UC is elite. They are playing really well. They are in the conversation to host the region. They have a lot to play for."
Then he talked about the Falcons:
"We are a work in progress. We can beat teams in spurts but we have been lacking that 40 minute effort."
NDC will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to West Virginia State. Tip time for that contest is slated for 4 PM.
Other MEC Scores Wednesday:
Concord 83 West Virginia Wesleyan 63
Fairmont State 89 Wheeling 66
Davis & Elkins 84 Glenville State 79
West Virginia State 87 Salem 74
West Liberty 90 Frostburg State 80
MEC Standings:
Charleston 14-2 (19-3)
West Liberty 12-3 (18-5)
Concord 11-4 (18-4)
West Virginia State 11-4 (16-6)
Fairmont State 10-6 (17-6)
Davis & Elkins 8-7 (13-10)
Glenville State 6-9 (11-12)
NDC 6-10 (11-11)
Wheeling 4-12 (7-15)
Frostburg State 2-14 (2-21)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-14 (2-21)
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