Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame College men's basketball team fell short against the visiting Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals in a Mountain East Conference showdown on Monday evening in Murphy Gymnasium, 83-74.
Kyauta Taylor led the Falcons in scoring, dropping 21 points on 7-15 shooting, including six 3-pointers.
Oliver Megins scored 16 points on 7-9 shooting while also recording six rebounds and two assists for NDC.
The Falcons (3-2 overall, 0-2 Mountain East) and Cardinals battled back-and-forth throughout the first half. The host Falcons ended the first half on a 7-0 run, spurred by four points from Megins, a three from Taylor and two free throws from
Ja'Sean Lewis, to cut the deficit to just 36-34 at halftime.
At the start of the second half,
Kobie Johnson nailed a fast-break jumper to tie the score at 36-36 to renew life for the Falcons with 19:46 remaining. However, the seventh-ranked Cardinals responded with a 22-9 run over the next eight minutes, taking a 58-45 lead with 11:56 remaining in the game.
But the Falcons refused to simply roll over.
Taylor drained a 3-pointer with an assist from
Will Vorhees to cut the deficit to just 10 points. Less than 30 seconds later, Taylor continued to heat up as he drained another three to bring the score within single-digits, 58-51.
On the ensuing possession, Taylor split a pair of free throws to make the score 58-52. On NDC's next possession, Megins hit a three of his own to bring the game within one score, 58-55, with another assist from Vorhees.
Down by just one score, NDC forced a defensive stop that led to another three from Taylor to tie the score at 58-58. WJU went on a 5-0 run to re-take the lead, 63-58, but a three-point play from Vorhees was followed by another three from Taylor, giving NDC a 64-63 lead.
However, the Cardinals responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead over the Falcons, 71-64. From there, the Falcons showed fight but couldn't pull within one-score as they fell by a final score of 83-74.
With the loss, the Falcons fall to 3-2 on the season, including an 0-2 mark against MEC competition.
The Falcons return to action on Monday, Nov. 28 on the road against the Lake Erie Storm in non-conference action. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.
