Box Score
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Notre Dame Falcons won their eighth straight game on Sunday afternoon, in a 95-87 road victory over the Concord Mountain Lions.
The Falcons (11-2, 5-2 MEC) have now won eight in a row, their longest winning streak of the season, and their longest since they joined the ranks of NCAA-II. The loss for the Mountain Lions (5-8, 1-6 MEC) was their third in a row.
The contest was a rematch of the 2016 MEC Tournament Championship, and the Falcons were able to successfully seek redemption. Notre Dame shot above 50-percent for the second straight game, hitting on 51.4-percent (36-for-70) of their shots, and had four score in double figures.
Concord was red hot to start the contest, as they used an early 8-0 run through the first two-and-a-half minutes to stage an early lead. They would extend that run to take a 12-point (20-8) advantage at the 14:20-mark in the opening half, before the Falcons came storming back.
Notre Dame went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes of the contest, getting buckets from
Drew Scarberry,
Kobie Johnson and
Will Vorhees to cut the deficit down to two (20-18). While they played catchup for most of the first half, they were able to take their first lead of the game, 32-31, on a layup from
Kyauta Taylor with five minutes left in the opening stanza, and the Falcons rallied from that early deficit to tie the game at 40-40 at the half.
Taylor hit layup on NDC's opening possession of the second half, and moments later, Vorhees buried a 3-pointer to put the Falcons ahead, 45-42, and they led for the rest of the game. The 3-pointer from Vorhees was part of an incredible 25-8 run over the first seven minutes of the half. During that run, the Falcons shot 76.9-percent (10-for-13) from the floor, with Vorhees, Johnson, Taylor,
Ja'Sean Lewis and Scarberry all making shots during that incredible run, which gave the Falcons a 67-50 lead with 13:11 left in the contest.
The Falcons maintained a double-digit lead until Concord's BJ Hamlet hit a 3-pointer to bring the Mountain Lions within seven (81-74) with 4:41 left in the contest.
While Concord was eventually able to trim the deficit down to six, they could not get any closer, as Lewis hit a jumper, and Johnson buried a pair of free throws in the final minute of the contest to close the deal.
Vorhees led the way for Notre Dame with 31 points to go along with nine rebounds. It marked the third straight game that he's scored 30 points or more. Taylor and Johnson each added 20 points, while Scarberry gave the Falcons 18 great minutes off the bench, scoring 17 points on 5-for-7 (71.4-percent) shooting from 3-point land. Lewis delivered a double-double for the Falcons, as he had a monster game on the glass, grabbing a game high 16 rebounds and added 10 assists.
The Falcons return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when they head to Wise, Va., to take on the Cavaliers of Virginia-Wise. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
