Box Score
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame College men's basketball team dropped its 2016-17 Mountain East Conference opener on the road against the No. 1 ranked West Liberty Hilltoppers, 94-72, on Saturday afternoon.
The loss for the Falcons (3-1 overall, 0-1 MEC) was their first of the season after starting out 3-0 against non-conference competition.
NDC was led by
Will Vorhees, who posted 32 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Falcons. The junior forward also shot 13-21 from the field, including 2-4 from beyond the arc, to pace NDC.
Ja'Sean Lewis dropped 10 points on 4-8 shooting while reeling in eight rebounds, two steals and one block.
The Falcons held their own early, leading 9-8 following a jumper from Vorhees at the 13:32 mark of the first half. After a free throw by the Hilltoppers, NDC extended its lead to 12-9 as
Oliver Megins drained a 3-pointer to give the Falcons early momentum.
West Liberty responded with an 11-5 run to take a 20-17 lead, but Megins came through again with yet another three to tie the score at 20-20 with 8:32 remaining in the first half. Less than two minutes later, a 3-pointer from
Drew Scarberry, assisted by
Kobie Johnson, gave the Falcons a 25-23 lead with just 6:49 remaining in the half.
However, the top-ranked Hilltoppers responded with another run, this time a 17-6 clip to leave the Falcons trailing by nine, 40-31, at halftime.
Thirty second out of halftime,
Kyauta Taylor nailed a 3-pointer for the Falcons to cut the deficit to just six, 40-34, but WLU answered with consecutive shots from deep, taking a 46-34 lead over NDC. Following another jumper from WLU, NDC's Megins hit his third three of the game to keep the Falcons within 11 points, 48-37, with 17:07 remaining.
But the Hilltoppers answered once again. West Liberty went on a 14-5 run to take a 62-42 lead over the Falcons, and never looked back from there as NDC fell by a final score of 94-72 on the road.
With the loss, the Falcons fall to 3-1 overall, including an 0-1 mark against MEC competition.
NDC returns to action on Monday, Nov. 21 at home against the No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit Hilltoppers in another MEC showdown. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Murphy Gym.
