Box Score
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame College men's basketball team eked out a narrow 81-79 road victory over the host West Virginia State Yellow Jackets on Thursday evening at the Walker Convocation Center. The visiting Falcons used a game-winning shot from
Will Vorhees with 31 seconds remaining to earn their first Mountain East Conference victory of the season.
The Falcons (5-2 overall, 1-1 MEC) were led by Vorhees throughout the evening as the junior forward scored 27 points on 11-19 shooting while grabbing 19 rebounds and blocking six shots.
Drew Scarberry made six 3-pointers en route to a 22-point night while
Ja'Sean Lewis recorded 15 rebounds and three blocks.
NDC trailed early as the host Yellow Jackets established a 24-12 lead less than nine minutes into the game. The Falcons still trailed by 10 points, 33-23, with 6:26 remaining in the first half before going on a run to narrow the deficit.
A 3-pointer from Vorhees cut the deficit to just 36-30 with 4:03 remaining, and another basket from the junior big man trimmed WVSU's lead to just four, 36-32. Scarberry dropped a 3-pointer of his own, and suddenly the Falcons trailed by just one point, 36-35, with 2:13 remaining before halftime.
Both sides went into halftime knotted at 42-42 after the Falcons closed the first half on a 19-9 run.
After a first half that featured dramatic runs from both sides, the second half proved to be quite the opposite as neither team led by more than six points at any points.
Vorhees opened the second half with a lay-up to give the Falcons the lead and a 3-pointer from
Oliver Megins extended NDC's lead to five, 47-42, early in the half. However, the Yellow Jackets trimmed NDC's lead to just one, 51-50, with 16:19 remaining in the half.
Kyauta Taylor drained a three to push NDC's lead back to four points, 54-50, but the Yellow Jackets responded with a 14-4 run to take a 64-58 lead over the Falcons.
But the Falcons fought back once again. A pair of Scarberry 3-pointers capped a 9-2 run from NDC, bringing the score within one, 67-66, with 7:09 remaining.
With just 3:14 remaining, the Falcons still trailed by four, 79-75. However, freshman Kobie Johnson did his best Kobe Bryant impression with a jumper to cut the deficit to 79-77 with 1:53 remaining. Johnson then made a pair of free throws with 1:32 remaining, tying the game at 79-79.
After the Yellow Jackets failed to score on offense, the Falcons scored on offense via lay-up from Vorhees, with an assist from Lewis, to take a 81-79 lead with 31 seconds remaining.
NDC forced a pair of misses in the final seconds of the game, and held on the for the narrow 81-79 road win over the host Yellow Jackets. With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-2 overall, including a 1-2 mark against MEC competition.
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Dec. 3 at home against the Charleston Golden Eagles in another MEC battle at Murphy Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm.
