In a game that featured nine ties and 16 lead changes at the McDonough Center on the campus of Wheeling University the Notre Dame College Falcons got a Jaedon Willis layup with 3.9 seconds left, and then a Jarret Haines jumper was off the mark as time expired. With the 71-69 win NDC improved to 3-0 (1-0 MEC) on the season, while Wheeling dropped to 1-4 (0-1 MEC) with the loss.
Wheeling would jump out to a 14-5 lead to start this one. John Godinez would go on a personal 5-0 run to cut the lead to 14-10 before Wheeling had an answer. The Falcons would battle back and tie the game at 21 after a Daylin Lee 3-pointer with six minutes to go in the opening half. After a Willis 3-pointer two minutes later and then a dunk by Mike Kirkland made it 29-25 with 2:32 in the first stanza. The Falcons would take a 33-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Willis led NDC with 12 points in the opening half, Godinez added seven, and Tyland Crawford tallied six. The Falcons shot 36 percent in the opening half, they shot 27 percent (4-15) from the 3-point line, and 60 percent from the free throw line in the opening stanza.
The Cardinals were led by Jarett Haines with 11 and Andrew Taylor with seven in the first half. The Cardinals shot 41 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line (4-9,) and made the only free throw they attempted in the first stanza.
The two teams would trade 7-0 runs early in the second half and a 3-pointer by Kirkland would give NDC a 45-43 lead with 13:38 to go. The two teams would go back and forth and be tied at 58 with 6:48 remaining. A 3-pointer by Andrew Taylor would put the home team in front 64-60 with 3:28 left. A jumper by Tyland Crawford would cut it to two but Haines would answer with a 3-pointer of his own to make it 67-62 with 1:49 to go. NDC would then get a 3-pointer from Crawford to cut it to two (67-65) at the 1:28 mark. Crawford talked about that:
" I didn't have a good shooting night but I always trust my shot so when Jaedon swung the ball to me I had to knock it down,"Crawford explained.
Another big sequence happened for the Falcons on the ensuing possession as Mike Sampson got in the passing lane to get a steal and took it the other way for a layup to to tie the game at 67 with 1:11 to go. Sampson talked about how he did not have his best night but had to stay aggressive:
" I wasn't playing well the whole night so I wanted to at least make sure my defense was still elite. I used my instincts to get the steal and my teammates wanted me to stay aggressive so I went to finish the bucket, "Sampson explained.
NDC would take a 69-67 lead after a Willis layup with 30 seconds remaining, but Haines would answer to tie the game for the ninth time with eight seconds to go. NDC would then get the layup by Willis with 3.9 seconds on the clock. A 3-pointer by Haines was off the mark as time expired as the Falcons stayed perfect on the season.
Crawford talked about the team coming through on the defensive end down the stretch:
" We played great team defense the whole night. We wanted Haines to take a tough shot and we did just that."
Godinez agreed:
" I think at the end defensively we pulled through. I think that's what got us the W! We knew we weren't worried about our offense because we have a lot of tools and it all came down to a stop at the end. I think we did that!' Godinez stated.
NDC shot 44 percent as a team, 36 percent (9-25) from the 3-point line, and 50 percent (4-8) at the free throw line. They had 11 assists and 12 turnovers as a team.
The Falcons were paced by Willis with 24 points to go along with five assists including the game winner, a trio of players added 10 points each (Kirkland, Crawford, and Godinez.) Sampson led the Falcons on the glass with 10 boards (to go with his six points.)
Coach Mark Richmond gave his thoughts after this one:
"We really battled tonight,"Richmond mentioned.
"I was proud of our cohesiveness at the end of the game. We didn't panic even when we had some adversity. We got some key stops in crunch time and guys made plays on the offensive end. To this point we've found ways to win which is obviously better than the alternative. We still have a ton of work to do but this group likes to work so we will continue to improve."
Wheeling was led by 20 points each from Haines and Reid, Taylor scored 13, and John Korte tallied 10.
NDC will return to action Tuesday for the home opener against West Liberty. Tip time is slated for 7:30 at Murphy Gym. You can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com
Other MEC Scores Saturday:
Charleston 94 Concord 74
Fairmont State 80 Davis & Elkins 66
West Liberty 100 Alderson Broaddus 70
Frostburg State 85 West Virginia Wesleyan 81
MEC Standings:
Fairmont State 1-0 (4-0)
West Liberty 1-0 (4-0)
NDC 1-0 (3-0)
Charleston 1-0 (4-1)
Glenville State 0-0 (1-0)
West Virginia State 0-0 (2-1)
Alderson Broaddus 0-1 (2-2)
Concord 0-1 (1-3)
Davis & Elkins 0-1 (1-3)
West Virginia Wesleyan 0-1 (1-3)
Wheeling 0-1 (1-4)
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