Box Score
GLENVILLE, W.Va. -- In the first contest of 2016, the Notre Dame Falcons held off a second half rally from Glenville State, to score a 78-72 road victory over the Pioneers on Monday evening. (Box)

The win for Notre Dame (8-3, 2-3 MEC)  was their third in a row, and their fifth in their last six games, while the loss for Glenville State (5-6, 2-3) snapped a three-game winning streak. 

Notre Dame's defense was hard after it in the early stages of the contest, as they held the Pioneers without a field goal for the first three and a half minutes. During that stretch, the Falcons used a layup from Will Vorhees and a 3-pointer from Kyauta Taylor to take an early 5-0 advantage. 

Glenville State eventually battled back, and they were able to tie things up, 11-11, with 13:07 left in the half. The Falcons would regain the lead though, just a minute later on a 3-pointer from Najeeb Johnson. After that, the Falcons were in the driver's seat for the rest of the half. 

Notre Dame would continue to take advantage of Glenville State's shooting struggles, as they brought their lead back up to five (18-13) at the 8:52-mark on a layup from Jacob Sawman. Through the first 11 minutes of the game, the Pioneers shot just 15.7-percent (3-for-19), and the NDC defense limited them from beyond the arc as well, where they shot just 20-percent (2-for-10). 

The lead grew again for the Falcons, as they held the Pioneers to just one make from the field inside the final five minutes of the half. Taylor hit a layup with 5:09 to play, giving NDC a 25-18 lead, but Jalon Plummer hit a 3-ball 30 seconds later. However, NDC held the Pioneers to just four free throws for the rest of the half. 

Notre Dame led by as many as eight (32-24) in the first half, and took a 32-25 advantage into the locker room at the half. Glenville State shot 13 more free throws (15-2) than the Falcons in the first half, but despite that disparity, they could not capitalize, as they shot just 20.7-percent (6-for-29) in the opening half. 

Meanwhile, Notre Dame got 11 first half points from Taylor, as they shot 37.8-percent (14-for-37) from the field, and used a 26-21 advantage on the glass to maintain their lead. 

Early on in the second half, things were going well for the Falcons. They shot well over the first few minutes of the half, and their lead reached double digits after Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 15:30 remaining, giving NDC a 42-32 advantage. 

The Falcon lead reached 12 (47-35) after Ja'Sean Lewis hit a jumper in the paint with 13:15 remaining, before the Pioneers came storming back. Glenville State responded with a 12-0 run over the next three  minutes of the contest to tie the game at 47-47. 

After getting knocked down, the Falcons got right back up, answering that 12-0 run with a 3-pointer from Taylor, who was the catalyst during a 9-1 run over the next two minutes. Taylor hit a pair of 3-pointers during that run to bring the NDC lead back to eight (56-48). 

As they had done once already in the half, Glenville State came roaring back. They began hitting their shots, and went on a 10-3 run over the next three minutes, and tied the game at 61-61 with 5:35 to play. 

The next four minutes were tightly contested, with the Falcons maintaining a lead for most of it. NDC was up three (71-68), with just under a minute left, when Taylor hit yet another big shot, connecting from beyond the arc for the fifth time on the night, giving the Falcons a 74-68 advantage with 50 seconds left, and they held on in the final minute to come away with the victory. 

Taylor led the Falcons with 25 points on the night to go along with five rebounds. Vorhees was one rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 12 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Lewis was one point shy of a double-double, with nine points and 10 rebounds. Tyree Gaiter added nine assists for the Falcons to go along with four steals. 

The Falcons are in action again on Wednesday, Jan. 6, when they head to Buckhannon, W.Va., to take on West Virginia Wesleyan. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.