SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – On Wednesday night, Notre Dame College hosted Wheeling Jesuit University, the ninth ranked team in NCAA Division II. The Falcons did put together a late comeback and played a competitive second half, but ultimately fell by a score of 91-80.

NDC (3-4, 1-2 MEC) started the game with their seventh different starting lineup in as many games when they took the floor against Wheeling Jesuit. Senior Will Vorhees, freshman Halil Parks and junior Ja'Sean Lewis, who have each started at least one game this season, did not appear in the game.

"We have got a lot of guys out, a lot of guys hurt," said head coach Tim Koenig. "We haven't had a practice with everyone healthy in six weeks so of course there will be lineup changes. We just expect everyone to be ready, and they have been."

The Cardinals (6-0, 3-0) scored the first five points of the game, but Notre Dame jumped right back into the contest and kept it close. With 14:27-remaining in the first half, senior Kyauta Taylor knocked down a three pointer to give the Falcons their first lead of the game, 15-14.

Later in the half, Wheeling Jesuit tried to separate themselves from NDC and went up by three points. However, on the other side of the court, redshirt-sophomore Drew Scarberry hit a three point shot to tie the game at 28 with nearly five minutes to go before halftime.

The rest of the way, WJU outscored Notre Dame 12-2 before the end of the half, using five points from Preston Boswell during the run. Boswell had 18 points in the first half and at halftime, the Cardinals led 40-30.

"We had some good looks (early in the game) and I thought we didn't finish the half very well," Koenig said. "That's a good basketball team over there. They're undefeated and we played them pretty tough until those final two-and-a-half minutes of the first half."

A three pointer by Scarberry, just over a minute into the second half, cut the deficit to single-digits (40-33). Following that shot, the Cardinals would go on a 21-9 offensive run and led by a game-high 19 points (61-42) with 13:24 remaining in the game.

The Falcons continued to play hard and were able to significantly cut the Wheeling Jesuit lead. NDC scored the next 11 points in the game and, less than two minutes after falling behind by nearly 20 points, the Falcons trailed by just eight points (61-53).

The Cardinals went back up by 10 points after a layup by Ryan Cooper was good, but then the Falcons scored back-to-back three pointers and back-to-back layups to tie the game at 63. Freshman Levi Frankland hit a layup and knocked down a free throw after he was fouled, which gave Notre Dame a 66-63 advantage.

Notre Dame would increase their lead to five points and led by a score of 72-67 before the Cardinals worked their way back in front. With 5:38 to go, Boswell knocked down a three to give WJU a 74-72 lead. They would not give that lead back to Notre Dame.

"A lot of guys are out, but we were proud of our guys' effort," Koenig explained, after the game. "We just have to do a better job of finishing halves and finish games, whether it is at the free throw line or on defense in transition. We're learning how to play with different personnel."

For Wheeling Jesuit, Haywood Highsmith scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the second half. He finished the game 29 points and 16 rebounds. Boswell also had 29 points while Jeremiah Wilson had 18 points and Pat Moseh added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Frankland scored 22 points in 35 minutes and shot 47-percent from the field. Redshirt-junior Angelo Cugini scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Taylor had 10 points and freshman Cole Hayes scored 17 points and shot 50-percent from three point range. Senior Oliver Megins scored nine points and had nine rebounds. The Falcons shot 47-percent in the second half.

Frankland has now scored more than 20 points in back-to-back games, and after the game Koenig said he likes what he has seen.

"I like that he's healthy. He really hadn't been healthy for two months," Koenig mentioned. "In the last week and-a-half, he's actually practiced and he can play and run and cut. You can see what type of player he is, just because he's healthy. If he's healthy, he's going to keep growing and progressing this season."

NDC will play No. 7 West Liberty University on December 2, on the road. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.