Short-handed Falcons Knock Off Nittany Lions To Close HomeStand.

The Notre Dame Falcons knocked off the Nittany Lions of Penn State Greater Allegheny 93-87 in a Wednesday matinee at Murphy Gym. The victory improved NDC to 3-3 on the season- while Allegheny fell to 5-3 on the campaign.
  The Falcons were led by a monster game from Kyauta Taylor. Taylor stuffed the stat sheet with 33 points- 11 rebounds- and- seven assists in the victory.  Levi Frankland added 21 points and five assists as well. Drew Scarberry rounded out the double figure scorers with 16 for NDC.
 The Falcons set new program records in both 3-point attempts (49-) and- 3- pointer's made (21) in the win which is good for 43 percent on the day.  The Falcons shot 45 percent from the floor- and- 67 percent (12-18) from the free throw line.  NDC won the rebounding battle 39-35.  They had 26 assists and 17 turnovers.
  Greater Allegheny was led by Jordan Payne with 30 points, 24 in the first half. Payne scored 20 or more points for the seventh straight game.  Kenneth Rouse added 16- Curtis Newby posted a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds-) while Markis Rivera added 12.
  The Nittany Lions shot 53 percent as a team.  They shot 50 percent (14-28) from the 3-point line.  They also shot 50 percent (1-2) from the free throw line.  The Nittany Lions had 17 assists and 17 turnovers as a team in the defeat.
    The Falcons started the game short-handed, as senior Will Vorhees- freshman Halil Parks- and- redshirt junior Angelo Cugini were unable to play due to injury.  It was a 6-0 lead for the Falcons right out of the gate, as Taylor and Scarberry would both knock down 3-pointer's in the game's first two minutes.  The Nittany Lions would answer with the game's next six points.  After a run by Allegheny the Falcons would trail 13-8 at the first media timeout after a Payne 3-pointer.  NDC would come back with a 9-2 run after a Oliver Megins 3-pointer gave them a 17-15 lead at the 13:06 mark of the opening half.  The two teams would go back and forth in the opening half, as the lead would change hands 12 times.  NDC would have a seven point lead (42-35) after a Taylor 3-pointer at the 2:12 mark, only to see the Nittany Lions score the next seven points and knot the game at 42 at the intermission.
  The second half would see the Nittany Lions score the game's first five points and take a 47-42 lead. NDC would then go on a 11-0 run to take a six point lead (53-47) after a Taylor 3-pointer at the 16:30 mark.  NDC would stretch that lead to 10 (59-49) on a Frankland 3-pointer.  The lead would be stretched to 14 (66-52) after a Taylor 3-pointer at the 12:54 mark.  The next eight points would belong to the Nittany Lions, as they would get to within six (66-60) after a Rouse 3-pointer at the 11:39 mark.  The lead would be back to double digits as Cole Hayes would knock down a 3-pointer to make it 74-62 at the 9:53 mark.
 In the next three plus minutes NDC would get 3-pointer's from both Frankland and Jack Kelsheimer to make it 84-70 at the 6:59 mark.  The lead would stay at 14 (87-73) after a Ja'Sean Lewis free throw at the 4:25 mark and the last media timeout.  The Nittany Lions would not go quietly, as they got to within five on a pair of occasions in the game's final minute. As NDC would hold on to even there record at 3-3 on the season.
Coach Tim Koenig spoke about the defensive effort in the second half:
" We did a much better job defensively in the second half, especially on Payne. Jack Kelsheimer and KT Taylor did a real good job on him (only six second half points.)  Koenig said."
  Koenig spoke about the bench:
" Jacob Sawman gave us a big lift off the bench today.  We had some contributions up and down, it was nice to get the win, Koenig said."
  Koenig also spoke about the contributions from Levi Frankland and KT Taylor in this one, as well as dealing with some injuries:
" As I said earlier KT played great defense in the second half. He had a great all-around game. Koenig said."
As for Levi Frankland:
"Levi is a real good player and he played very well today. He needs to be more vocal on and off the court. He has been dealing with a knee injury, that is not an excuse that is fact.  He is going to get better and better as the season goes on." Koenig said."
Lastly Koenig spoke about the program record 3-pointer's made and attempted:
" We definitely did not draw it up that way having that many attempts. " Koenig said.

NDC will take a break for the holiday and be back in action next Wednesday (11/28) when they battle #11 Wheeling Jesuit at Murphy Gym. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM