Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons got 44 points from Will Vorhees, but it was not enough as they fall in the final seconds to the Shepherd Rams, 78-77, on Monday afternoon.

The Falcons (12-4, 6-4 MEC) have now lost two in a row, their longest losing streak since November, when they fell to West Liberty and Wheeling Jesuit back-to-back. Shepherd (10-6, 7-3 MEC) has now won four consecutive games and six of their last seven, overall.

Vorhees put on a show during the entire game, but especially in the first half when he scored the first 15 points for Notre Dame and also had 17 of the Falcons' first 19 points.

The two teams were tied at 7 before NDC went on a 15-3 run. After a three-pointer by Drew Scarberry with 11:06 to play in the first half, the Falcons led 22-10 over the Rams.

NDC took a 13-point lead, 26-13, with 9:30 remaining in the first half, but then Shepherd put together their own run.

A layup by Naim Muhammed at the 8-minute mark cut the Rams' deficit to nine points, 28-19. From that point on, Shepherd ended the half on a 15-5 run and led at the halftime break, 34-33.

Vorhees finished the half with 25 points as he shot 11-for-17 (64-percent) from the floor. Notre Dame shot 52-percent, as a team, in the half.

In the second half, Vorhees hit a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 36-34 lead. The two teams went back and forth after that bucket, and by the 16:53-mark, the Falcons and Rams had tied the score three times in the second half.

After the breaking a 41-41 tie, the Falcons scored the next 12 points, including eight points by Kyauta Taylor.

Notre Dame took the largest lead of the game, 15 points, when they went up 62-47 on a fast break layup by Taylor, with 11:08 to go in the game.

However, Muhammed hit a layup for the Rams at the 6:38-mark in the second half, cutting the Falcons lead to two points, 63-61. This capped a 14-1 Shepherd run.

The Falcons could not shake the Rams as the largest lead they took the rest of the way was seven points.

Winston Burgess knocked down a free throw for the Rams with 2:08 remaining, which tied the game at 70.

Shepherd would score the next five points to take the lead, but Vorhees would get the Falcons back into the game when he converted a three-point play, hitting a free throw with 26-seconds left.

After a free throw by Burgess put the Rams up by two, Oliver Megins nailed a three-pointer with 17-seconds remaining, giving the Falcons a one-point lead, 77-76.

Shepherd brought the ball down the court and a rebound off of a Skyler Roman miss found its way into the hands of Steffen Davis. Davis put up a quick floater that went through the basket with .4 seconds remaining, giving the Rams a 78-77 lead.

Vorhees ended the game with 44 points and 13 rebounds. This is second time in the past two weeks that he has scored 44 points. Vorhees also dropped 44 points against Glenville State on Jan. 3. Taylor had 20 points in the second half, and 23 points overall. Nobody else scored in double-digits for the Falcons who shot 55-percent, from the field, as a team.

For the Rams, Muhammed (19 points), Davis (15 points), AJ Carr (14 points), Roman (12 points) and Burgess (10 points) all scored in double figures. Shepherd, as a team, shot only 41-percent.

The Falcons will travel to Urbana, Ohio to play Urbana University on Thursday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.