On the night when Drew Scarberry past Kyauta Taylor as the second most prolific 3-point shooter in NDC history it was the rest of his game that did the talking. Scarberry made three 3-pointer's on Wednesday to give him 304 on his career (Ryan Hickoff is the schools all time leader with 459) but it was a night when he scored 31 points- and- grabbed 11 rebounds. In a see saw affair that saw seven ties and 14 lead changes Fairmont State prevailed 81-76 at Joe Retton Arena.
NDC (8-15 6-11 MEC) split the season series with Fairmont. The NDC Falcons were paced by Scarberry who tied his career high that he set against his freshman season- and- he also had tied a career high in rebounds with 11. DeAnthony Owens added 18- and- Levi Frankland tallied 12 in the losing effort. NDC shot 48 percent from the field- 37 percent (7-19) from the 3-point line- and- 81 percent (17-21) from the free throw line. The Falcons had nine assists- and- 20 turnovers in the defeat. NDC won the rebounding battle 33-30.
Fairmont was led by Isaiah Sanders who scored 26 points- and- grabbed seven rebounds against his former team. Kenzie Melko added 18- Cole Von Handorf scored 15- while Dale Bonner scored 11 points- grabbed eight rebounds- dished out six assists- and- had five steals. Fairmont shot 51 percent as a team- 33 percent (8-24) from the 3-point line- and- 77 percent (13-17) from the free throw line. The Fighting Falcons had 15 assists- and- 14 turnovers on the night.
Sanders would hit a pair of 3-pointers to open the game- but NDC being down 10-4 would take a 13-12 lead after the first of three Scarberry triples at the 15:59 mark of the opening half. The two teams would trade seven point runs- and- after a Owens jumper at the 13:13 mark NDC led 22-20. It was 29-26 before another 7-0 NDC run made it 36-26 with 8:07 in the half as Scarberry and Owens would hit back to back 3-pointer's to give NDC their largest lead of the game. Fairmont would battle back and tie the game at 38 after a Melko dunk with under four left in the first half. The Fighting Falcons would lead 43-38 before Frankland and Jacob Brown would trade baskets. A 3-pointer by Frankland right before halftime would make it 45-43 Fairmont State. Scarberry- and- Owens would combine for 30 points in the first frame.
Frankland would score for NDC to open the second to tie the game at 45 but the next four would go Fairmont's way. NDC would get the lead back again 52-51 on a Scarberry dunk with 15:41 to go, as he converted the three-point play. He would add a pair of free throws before Fairmont tallied the next eight points. NDC would go on a 11-0 run as Scarberry would score nine of those points- and- Dan Lott would convert a layup to make it 65-59 NDC with 10:28 in the game. Sanders would knock down back to back triples and we would again be tied, this time at 65 with 9:45 to go. Sanders would add a pair of free throws to put Fairmont back on top. NDC would lead 71-70 after a Frankland basket- and- then a pair of free throws by Owens as well as Scarberry splitting a pair from the line made it 74-70 with 4:35 to go. Sanders would convert an old fashioned three-point play but a Burton basket gave NDC a 76-73 edge with 3:47 to go. Those would be the last points NDC would score in the contest. Von Handorf made a jumper to make it 76-75 NDC- then after a Frankland turnover a pair of Sanders free throws gave Fairmont the lead for good. Von Handorf would get a steal and hit a pair of free throws on the next possession. After a missed 3-ball by Scarberry Ilisihia Washington would hit a pair at the line to secure the win for Fairmont.
Despite a great night Scarberry was hard on himself afterwards:
" It was a dog fight just like we knew it was going to be. A couple bad decisions by me down the stretch. But I feel that it's a learning experience that we can grow from and make us even better for the rest of the season."Scarberry explained.
Hodges agreed:
" It was a war and they got the best of us today. We had some mental mistakes that we can fix."Hodges added.
NDC will return home Saturday when they host Frostburg State. Tip time from Murphy Gym is slated for 4 PM.
Other MEC Games Wednesday:
Concord 101 Wheeling 75
Frostburg State 63 Urbana 62
West Liberty 111 Glenville State 80
Charleston 94 Davis & Elkins 88
West Virginia State 98 West Virginia Wesleyan 88 (OT)
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 14-3 (19-4)
Charleston 12-5 (18-5)
Fairmont State 12-5 (17-5)
West Virginia State 11-6 (16-6)
Glenville State 10-7 (13-10)
Wheeling 9-8 (12-9)
West Virginia Wesleyan 8-9(9-14)
Frostburg State 7-10 (10-13)
NDC 6-11 (8-15)
Concord 5-12 (8-15)
Davis & Elkins 4-13 (6-17)
Urbana 4-13 (5-18)
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