The Notre Dame College Falcons returned home for the first time in two weeks on Saturday as they welcomed the Davis & Elkins College Senators to Murphy Gym. Devin Haid and RJ Ogom each scored in double figures but it was not enough as the Falcons fell 93-80. With the loss NDC falls to 10-9 and 5-8 in the MEC. D&E improves to 12-8 and 7-5 in the MEC with the win.
"We had a bad end of the first half and start to the second half. We forced things offensively, we had trouble stopping the ball in transition on defense. That 8-9 minute stretch was hard to overcome. Obviously we did not get the result that we wanted," NDC head coach Mark Richmond explained.
Vadim Clanet hit a three to start the scoring for the Senators before a jumper by junior Josh Dames got NDC on the board. After Sam Rolle hit a 3-pointer D& E had a 10-5 lead. NDC would have a response though. A 3-pointer by Ogom and a jumper by Haid knotted the game at 10 4:20 seconds in. The game would be tied a couple more times before the Falcons would go on a 8-0 run. Dames scored and was fouled. He made the free throw to put the Falcons on top. Redshirt sophomore Jevontae Jones made a layup and then Haid knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 23-16 NDC with 9:55 left in the opening half. Redshirt freshman Robbie Cass knocked down a three at the 6:31 mark of the half and NDC had its largest lead of the game at eight (30-22.) After a 6-0 run by the Senators Ogom hit a pair of free throws and Rolle would score again. Rolle would go on a four point run to put D&E up 34-33 with 2:34 until halftime. Ben Gilliam hit a free throw but another Cass triple put NDC up 36-35. Rolle would score a free throw and a layup before the half to give the Senators a 38-36 lead at the intermission.
Ogom had eight, Haid had seven, Cass six, and Dames five in the opening 20 minutes. NDC shot 36.4 percent from the field, 5-10 (50 percent) from the 3-point line, 7-12 (58.3 percent) from the free throw line, as well as having nine assists to go with seven turnovers in the first stanza. The Senators were paced by Rolle with 17, Vadim Clanet had seven, while both Clarens Pierre and Charleston Ponds had four. The Senators shot 36.4 percent from the field, 75 percent (12-16) at the free throw line, led on the glass 25-19, while they had six assists and seven turnovers in the half.
Redshirt junior Andre Harris made a free throw and then Jones breathed some life into the Falcons with a jam to put them up 39-38 with 19:24 to go. Jones could not convert the old fashioned three-point play and that would be the last lead NDC would enjoy in this one. The Senators would stretch the lead to 50-42 after a Tristan Starks layup at the 15:29 mark. The lead would grow to 14 (62-48) on a Pierre layup with 10:35 to go. That lead would swell to 18 (75-57) after another fast break layup by Rolle. NDC would get to within single digits (81-72) as Haid hit a jumper with 2:52 on the clock. The Falcons would get no closer than nine the rest of the way as they saw their three game win streak snapped.
Haid led NDC with 21 points in 31 minutes of action to go along with seven rebounds while Ogom added 15 and three rebounds in 17 minutes.
"RJ and Devin have been playing well and are really capable offensively. We have to get more out of both units though. We need to be more balanced. That is the idea behind what we are doing," Richmond said. (When describing subbing in five guys at a time.)
"Those guys (Ogom and Haid) played well offensively tonight but other guys struggled."
NDC shot 40.6 percent from the field, 34.8 percent (8-23) from the 3-point line, and 61.5 percent (16-26) at the free throw line. They had 15 assists and 15 turnovers in the contest.
The Senators were led by Rolle who had 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals. Pierre added 18 points and seven rebounds, Ponds added 15, while Clanet tallied 10. As a team D&E shot 46 percent from the field, 21.7 percent (5-23) from the 3-point line, 66.7 percent (30-45) from the free throw line, while they had 16 assists to go with eight turnovers. The Senators also won the rebounding battle 45-38. The Senators were +10 in the paint (44-34) and +14 in fast break points (22-8.)
Richmond gave his final thoughts about the offense in this one:
"We got some good looks against some zone. In the second half when we were trying to get on a run to make a comeback we took some quick shots. When you shoot the right ones most of them go in. When you try and shoot over people that makes it more difficult on yourself."
NDC will be right back at home on Wednesday night when they host Concord at Murphy Gym. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM.
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
Concord 84 Frostburg State 74
Fairmont State 92 Glenville State 82
Salem 86 West Virginia Wesleyan 82
Charleston 76 West Liberty 72
West Virginia State 86 Wheeling 78
MEC Standings:
Charleston 11-2 (16-3)
West Virginia State 10-3 (14-5)
West Liberty 9-3 (15-5)
Concord 9-4 (13-4)
Fairmont State 8-5 (15-5)
Davis & Elkins 8-5 (12-8)
Glenville State 6-7 (10-10)
NDC 5-8 (10-9)
Wheeling 2-11 (5-14)
Frostburg State 2-11 (2-18)
West Virginia Wesleyan 1-11 (2-18)
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