Tough Pill To Swallow.

The Notre Dame Falcons went into Joe Rhetton Arena Saturday and were walloped 105-65 by the Fighting Falcons of Fairmont State. With the win the Fighting Falcons improved to 17-5 and 13-3 in the MEC. After the loss NDC falls to 5-17 and 3-12 in the MEC.
  D'Ondre Stockman led seven Fairmont players in double figures with 15 points- Caleb Davis added 13- Cole Von Handorf added 15-while the trio of Andrew Emrick- Vonte Montgomery- and- RJ Hutcherson each tallied 11.  Donald Kummer rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 of his own. The Fighting Falcons shot 51 percent from the field- 43 percent (17-40) from the 3-point line- and- 82 percent (14-17) at the free throw line.  They had 16 assists and nine turnovers as a team.
  NDC was led by Angelo Cugini who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Drew Scarberry and Cole Hayes each scored 14- while Oliver Megins added 13.  The Falcons shot 43 percent from the floor- 28 percent (5-18) from the 3-point line- and- 74  percent (14-19) from the free throw line.  The Falcons had 11 assists and 17 turnovers in the game.
  NDC coach Tim Koenig summed it up:
" Offensively they pressured us well, we struggled with the pressure. Our execution was not very good and they took us out of what we wanted to do. On defense they made some tough shots but they had way to many open looks. We did not contain the ball well. They were +25 on us in turnovers and +12 on us in second chance points. We did not get enough shots, they attempted 20 more shots than we did. We can not play that way. They got offensive rebounds- we turned the ball over- and- they had a bunch of second chance points. That is the recipe for our worst game of the year." Koenig stated."
  NDC had a brief lead early before the Fighting Falcons went on a 13-0 run to take a 18-6 lead.  The Fighting Falcons padded that lead and would lead 59-33 at halftime.  Fairmont shot the ball extremely well in the opening half, shooting at a 61 percent clip- while they shot 65 percent (11-17) from the 3-point line- and- 89 percent (8-9) from the free throw line.  Jason Jolly and Caleb Davis each scored 11 in the opening stanza.
  NDC shot 57 percent from the field in the first half- 50 percent (3-6) from the 3-point line-and- 75 percent (6-8) at the free throw line.  Scarberry led NDC with 10 in the opening half- while Cugini scored nine to go with five rebounds.
  The Fighting Falcons cruised in the second half. Nine players scored in the half. Cole Von Handorf had 10 off the bench in the stanza. Cole Hayes had 11 of his 14 for NDC in the second half.
Koenig talked about the upcoming game with Glenville State Thursday:
" This is a playoff game for us. Most teams the playoffs start at the end of the year. For us they start now. We have to take care of the ball better, play inside-out- contain the dribbler- help the helper. We need to rebound the ball. We need to exploit any mismatches we have. We need to get loose balls. It was a tough loss today but we will be ready to roll for our playoff game Thursday at home against Glenville State. " Koenig said."
Tip time is 7:30 and you can catch all the action on NotreDameFalcons.com
MEC Scores Saturday:
Shepherd 93 Urbana 68
West Liberty 105 Concord 92
Charleston 77 Glenville State 69
West Virginia Wesleyan 84 West Virginia State 70
Virginia Wise 81 Wheeling Jesuit 78
MEC Standings:
West Liberty 15-1 (20-1)
Fairmont State 13-3 (17-5)
Wheeling Jesuit 12-4 (17-5)
Shepherd 10-6 (14-8)
West Virginia State 10-6 (12-9)
Charleston 9-7 (13-9)
Concord 7-9 (11-11)
Virginia Wise 7-9 (9-13)
West Virginia Wesleyan 5-11 (5-17)
NDC 3-13 (5-17)
Glenville State 3-13 (4-17)
Urbana 2-14 (3-18)