Falcons Tourney Hopes Take A Hit Saturday.

The Notre Dame Falcons slim chance of making the NCAA regionals took a hit Saturday with a 85-75 loss at Concord. The loss means the Mountain Lions swept the season series from NDC, which does not bode well for the Falcons tournament hopes.  With the loss NDC falls two games behind the Mountain Lions for fourth place in the conference. With Concord securing the season sweep it is virtually a three game lead now.  NDC was 10th in the first regional standing that came out Wednesday.
  Concord (18-8 overall and 13-7 in the MEC) tallied three players in double figures in the victory.  Aaron Miller led the way with 25 points- Rob Reed scored 19- while Jametrius Wade added 10.  The Mountain Lions shot 42 percent (26-62) from the field- they shot at a 36 percent clip (12-33) from the 3-point line.  They struggled at the free throw line, where they shot 58 percent (21-36.)  The Mountain Lions dominated the rebounding battle 57-38.  They had 13 assists and 20 turnovers.
  NDC (17-9 11-9 MEC) was paced by Tyree Gaiter once again. Gaiter scored 31 points- dished out seven assists- and- also added six steals.  Will Vorhees was the only other Falcon in double figures, scoring 21 of his own.
  NDC shot 39 percent (30-77) on the day- they really struggled from both the 3-point line (8-33 for 24 percent) and from the free throw line (7-14 for 50 percent.)  The Falcons had 16 assists and 11 turnovers.
  It was a back and forth game in the opening half. Neither team could build a lead against the other.  At the half it was a 44-43 advantage for the Mountain Lions.
  The second half saw nearly even basketball for the first three minutes. After a Vorhees basket NDC trailed by two (52-50) at the 16:57 mark.  The Mountain Lions then took control behind some timely 3-point shooting to go on a 17-4 run to open up a 69-54 lead at the 10:52 mark. The Falcons would not go quietly though.  Gaiter had an eight point run by himself, and then a Vorhees basket cut the deficit to six (69-63.)  That's as close as NDC would get.
  The Falcons will be back in action when they battle #2 Wheeling Jesuit Thursday night. Tip time is set for 730 at Murphy Gym.
MEC Standings:
Wheeling Jesuit 19-1 (26-1)
West Liberty 18-2 (24-2)
Fairmont State 17-3 (23-3)
Concord 13-7 (18-8)
Notre Dame College 11-9 (17-9)
Shepherd 10-10 (15-11)
Charleston 10-10 (13-13)
West Virginia Wesleyan 9-11 (14-12)
Glenville State 7-13 (10-16)
West Virginia State 4-16 (6-19)
UVA-Wise 1-19 (3-23)
Urbana 1-19  1-19 (2-23)
Atlantic Region Standings (top eight to qualify for DII regionals)  (Rankings as of 2.17)
1. Wheeling Jesuit
2. West Liberty
3. Fairmont State
4. West Chester
5. Kutztown
6. Indiana (PA)
7. Virginia State
8. East Stroudsburg
9. Concord
10. Notre Dame College