#7 West Liberty Turns Back NDC 103-84.

The seventh ranked Hilltoppers of West Liberty improved to 7-0 and 4-0 in the MEC with a 103-84 win over the Falcons of Notre Dame College (3-5 1-3 MEC.)  It was a hard fought game that NDC was in much of the way and got to within five midway thru the second half before the Hilltoppers broke the century mark for the seventh time in as many games to secure the victory.
  West Liberty was led by 31 points from Dan Monteroso- Jordan Watson scored 18- while Eric Meininger and Evan French each scored 11.  James Griffin added 10 of his own for a West Liberty team that shot 52 percent from the field- and- 44 percent (16-36) from the 3-point line.  The Hilltoppers shot 82 percent (9-11) from the free throw line.  Each team had 35 rebounds in this one. The Hilltoppers had 25 assists and just eight turnovers in the contest.  They scored 27 points off NDC turnovers.
  The Falcons were led by Kyauta Taylor who tallied a double-double (28 points and 10 rebounds.)  Drew Scarberry also scored in double figures with 17- Levi Frankland added 15- and- Angelo Cugini added 10 to go along with eight rebounds.  Oliver Megins also added nine points and eight rebounds for the Falcons.
 NDC shot 52 percent from the floor in the contest.  They shot 39 percent (12-31) from the 3-point line.  They struggled at the free throw line, where they shot at a 60 percent clip (6-10.)  NDC had 17 assists and 19 turnovers as a team.
  The game got off to a pretty even start as Evan French would knock down a 3-pointer after Drew Scarberry did the same for NDC and the game was tied at 16 just over five minutes in.  The Hilltoppers would score the next eight points before Scarberry would hit another 3-pointer.  Midway thru the first half after a Taylor 3-pointer the Falcons would be within four (31-27.)  The Hilltoppers would go on a big run to end the first half and would lead by 16 (56-40) at the intermission.
  The Falcons shot 50 percent as a team in the opening half and 40 percent (6-15) from the 3-point line.  The Falcons only shot 50 percent (2-4) from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes.  The Falcons were hurt by 12 turnovers in the opening half.
Coach Tim Koenig talked about closing halves and offensive rebounding:
"We need to close halves better as a team. We were up four in the Wheeling game with just about seven minutes to go and didn't close it out. Today in the first half we were right there with West Liberty and next thing you know we were down 16. We need to do a better job on the offensive glass and not turning  the ball over. They had 11 more shot attempts than we did. No moral victories in this game but I believe this team is going to turn the corner, Koenig said."
  In the second half West Liberty would lead by as many as 22 (66-44) at the 16:38 mark before NDC would once again make a big run.  They would get to within five (70-65) after a Frankland 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark.
NDC Guard Jack Kelsheimer gave credit to West Liberty after they took NDC's best shot and also commented on the resiliency of the Falcons:
" When you play an up tempo team like West Liberty you are never out of the game.  We showed great resiliency and cut the game to five points late in the second half, but props to West Liberty on hitting some tough shots.  At the end of the day, we showed that we can play against two of the best teams in the country this week, and we are gonna be ready to go when we get another shot at these guys, Kelsheimer said."
Koenig agreed:
"When you play a team that plays the style like West Liberty does they get a lot of shots up and you are never out of the game." Koenig said.
  The Falcons would get to within eight at the 8:05 mark but that is as close as they would get.
  Koenig commented on the Falcons reinventing themselves:
" We are doing a job of reinventing ourselves with the guys that we have hurt.  We are playing a lot more three and four guard lineups to compensate for the size that we lost. "Koenig said."
Kelsheimer commented on the situation as well:
" With some of our older guys out, we have had to rely on a different lineup.  I think that we are continuing to get better everyday as we get used to playing with each other.  Everyone on this team is committed to winning and this is still going to be a special season. Now that we know we can play with the best teams in the country, we are ready to take on the rest of the schedule." Kelsheimer said.
Lastly, Koenig commented on practice time and injures:
" Halil Parks is day to day. Will and Ja'Sean are still out.  We are going to give them the day off tomorrow, then we will practice Monday and Tuesday." Koenig said.
  The Falcons will be back in action Wednesday evening when they head to Institute, West Virginia to take on the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM. You can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com.