BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Notre Dame College notches their fifth consecutive win with an 85-68 wire-to-wire victory over West Virginia Wesleyan College, on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons shot 50-percent from the floor and hauled in 46 rebounds, which was the third highest number for the team, this season.

Notre Dame (18-6, 14-4 MEC) received scoring from redshirt-senior Will Vorhees (13 points), reshirt-junior Drew Scarberry (three pointer) and freshman Isaiah Sanders (three pointer) in the first ten minutes of the game. In that time, NDC had expanded their lead to 11 points, 18-7, after a Vorhees layup with 10:48 remaining.

Although Notre Dame led the entire game, West Virginia Wesleyan (10-14, 7-11 MEC) put pressure on them, at times. Over about six minutes, the Bobcats knocked down 50-percent of their shots, including two threes and went on a 14-4 run. They closed the gap to one point, 22-21, with just under five minutes to go before halftime.

Vorhees had picked up his second foul with 9:40 left in the first half, causing him to take a seat.

"Today, we had to sit Will down because he got into foul trouble," head coach Tim Koenig said. "But that's going to happen sometimes. Hamish (Warden) played really well and it's a testament to how hard he works. He's really coming on late in the season and giving us a lift off the bench."

Later, it was the Falcons' turn to add some space between themselves and W.Va. Wesleyan. On one NDC possession, a missed three was rebounded by Vorhees, but he missed the shot he put up. Sanders was in position to give the Falcons a third opportunity, and his tip-in was successful. That basket started a 14-4 run, on 71-percent shooting, which gave NDC a 36-24 halftime advantage.

"Rebounding was obviously a huge part of the game," Koenig mentioned. "Isaiah (Sanders) tipped the ball in and we started the run late in the first half which included really beating them on the glass."

The Falcons shot 52-percent in the first half and 40-percent from three point range. The Bobcats, who are 15^th in the country in three pointers made per game, made just four in the first half and shot 24-percent from three.

"Our emphasis was on perimeter defense," said Koenig. "It was a night and day difference from Thursday and was a big key in today's game. We couldn't let them shoot stand still threes. We knew they could beat us by making the three."

Notre Dame began the second half on a 19-9 run in the first six minutes of the second stanza. They stretched the lead to 22 points, 55-33, their largest lead of the game. Sanders had six of the points for Notre Dame, on the run.

The only major run by W.Va. Wesleyan was an 11-2 scoring barrage, which cut the deficit to eight points, the closest the Bobcats would get in the second half. After Thurman knocked down a three pointer with 11:58 remaining, WVWC went on a tear. They got a layup and a free throw, to complete a three point play, from Daylin Lee and then Fred Brondsted knocked down three free throws on the next possession. They would make their next two shots, which turned out to be a three pointer by Clay Todd and another layup by Lee.

For Notre Dame, Sanders scored in double-digits (17 points) for the third consecutive game. He also posted a career-high in rebounds with 11 and tied a career-high with six offensive boards.

"When Isaiah gets on the glass and grabs rebounds, it gets his offensive game going," said Koenig. "He really played well on defense today, too"

Vorhees finished the game with 32 points on 70-percent shooting. He has now scored over 30 points in six consecutive games and has shot 70-percent, or better, in back-to-back contests. Scarberry finished with 16 points, making five three pointers. Thurman had 13 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Four of the five starters scored in double-digits in the second half. In the game, Notre Dame shot 49-percent and 44-percent from long range. They went 9-for-10 at the free throw stripe.

"Larenz and Will led the way and Scarberry hit big threes, one late in the game, I felt sealed the game," Koenig stated.

Junior Bruce Hodges III had 10 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. Hodges is the third player in NDC history to post a game with 10, or more, rebounds and 10, or more, assists. It is the fourth time it has been done in program history. As a team, NDC totaled 26 assists, a season-high.

"I think we usually do a really good job of moving the ball around and today we made our shots to get the assists," Koenig said. "We got the ball off the glass and were able to kick it out for shots. I thought our execution was really good today."

Luka Petrovic had 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Bobcats while Daylin Lee scored 17 points off the bench. WVWC was held to 43-percent shooting and 30-percent from three.

NDC comes home to play Concord University on February 21. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.