Box Score
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Notre Dame Falcons stumble again after halftime, allowing 40 points in the second half in a 67-60 loss to the Shepherd Rams, on Thursday night.
The defeat for the Falcons (15-8, 9-8 MEC) is their sixth loss in their last 10 games. They are now 8-2, this season, when leading at halftime. For the Rams (14-9, 11-6 MEC), the win snaps their two-game losing streak. They are 7-3 over their last 10 games.
The Falcons got off to an incredibly hot start in the game, scoring the first nine points of the contest, including two, three-pointers by
Ja'Sean Lewis.
With 12:14 remaining in the first half, Notre Dame went up by double-digits for the first time, 16-4, after
Kyauta Taylor stroked a three-point basket.
Taylor nailed another basket and at the 9:39-mark, the Falcons led, 25-10, while shooting 58-percent from the field and 80-percent from behind the three-point line. On the other side, the Rams missed their first 12 three-point attempts.
The Falcons continued to pour in the points as
Will Vorhees converted on a layup attempt, putting the Falcons up, 28-10. But Shepherd's offense finally woke up and went on a big run, with a jump start by Steffen Davis, who knocked down three triples before halftime.
With two minutes remaining in the first half, the Rams had put together a 12-2 run and cut the Falcons' lead to eight points, 30-22, while Notre Dame's offense began to struggle.
The Falcons' continued to let the lead slip and by the halftime break, the Rams only trailed, 30-27, as Shepherd was able to hit four, three-pointers in the final five minutes of the half. Notre Dame did not score a point after the 5:35-mark and committed three turnovers in the final five minutes.
NDC shot 12-for-27 (44-percent) and 4-for-8 (40-percent) from three-point land, in the first half. SU went 9-for-28 (32-percent) from the field and behind the three-point arc, they shot 4-for-16 (25-percent) as a team.
The Rams came out of the locker room and continued to improve their field-goal percentage. Shepherd went up 35-30 with a dunk by AJ Carr at the 17:23-mark in the second half, capping a 25-2 run after the Falcons held an 18-point lead at the 6:50-mark in the first half.
Shepherd took their first double-digit lead, 42-32, as Winston Burgess dunked the ball.
Drew Scarberry went on a 6-2 run, by himself, as he hit a pair or three-point baskets between the 10:07-mark and the 9:05-mark in the second half. This quick run made it a one-point game, 49-48, in favor of the Rams.
However, Shepherd put their foot back on the gas pedal and the Falcons could not get any closer than two points, for the rest of the contest.
NDC had only two players score in double-digits. Vorhees scored 27 points and had five rebounds while Taylor added 13 points and grabbed nine boards. The Falcons shot 37-percent in the second half and went 23-for-57 (40-percent) from the field, in the game. They were outrebounded, 46-35.
Shepherd had four players reach double-digits in scoring. Naim Muhammed scored 18 points and had nine rebounds. Carr added 16 points while Burgess and Davis both had 12 points. The Rams shot 23-for-60 (38-percent) from the field and went just 8-for-31 (26-percent) from three-point range, as a team.
Notre Dame will conclude their current three-game road trip when they travel to Fairmont, W. Va. to battle No. 5 Fairmont State on Feb. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
