WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The final 10-seconds of the contest on Wednesday night, summarized how the entire game went. In a thrilling battle, Notre Dame College's Will Vorhees sunk a contested jumper with 5.2-seconds remaining, before West Liberty University's Eric Meininger knocked down the game-winning three pointer with 0.9-seconds to go. The No. 7 ranked Hilltoppers snuck past the Falcons, by a score of 99-98.

Although West Liberty led for the majority of the first half, they never expanded that lead over nine points. In fact, their high water mark came early in the contest. After going on an 11-0 run, WLU held an 18-9 lead over Notre Dame with 14:49 on the clock.

Notre Dame got themselves right back into the game with back-to-back threes by redshirt-junior Drew Scarberry and two consecutive jumpers for redshirt-senior Will Vorhees. The 10-2 run brought NDC within one point, with 12:45 remaining.

Sophomore Halil Parks hit a three with just under 12 minutes to go, tying the game at 25. A couple minutes later, two points by Vorhees tied the game at 29.

Although the Falcons did not take the lead the rest of the first half, they stayed close, and trailed by just two points, 58-56, in a 20 minute battle that included four ties.

Scarberry made five three pointers and had 17 points, while Vorhees also totaled 17 points. Junior Larenz Thurman had 13 points, on three triples, and five assists. West Liberty, who came into the game leading the nation by shooting 44-percent from long range, shot just 27-percent from three point land in the first stanza. Marlon Moore Jr. led the team with 12 points.

The game became a nail-biter in the second half. Once again, neither team could extend the lead into double-digits. 

However, in the first two minutes of the half, West Liberty came out shooting well. They made their first three shots, while NDC missed three straight. The Falcons then turned it around over the next two and-a-half minutes. Notre Dame outscored the Hilltoppers 12-4, to tie the game at 68 with 12:08 remaining.

The Falcons broke through and took their first lead since early in the first half, when Scarberry hit another three to give NDC a 73-72 advantage. They would hold the lead for two and-a-half minutes.

Between the 11:08-mark and 8:07-mark in the second half, the lead changed hands seven times in the see-saw battle. WLU took the final lead of the exchange and held it for seven and-a-half minutes.

Notre Dame did not take the lead back until there were 41-seconds remaining. Junior Bruce Hodges III scrambled for a ball and was fouled on the ground. He made two free throws to pull ahead, 96-94. On the other end, a foul was called and Brady Arnold tied the game with two free throws.

NDC brought the ball down the court with 19-seconds left. Vorhees got the ball and hit a two point jumper, just inside the three point line, with five seconds remaining. Meininger brought the ball down for West Liberty, stopped and hit a three with a hand in his face for the win.

For Notre Dame, Vorhees scored 30 points, to reach nine consecutive games with, at least, 30 points. He also grabbed 13 boards. Scarberry had 29 points, which is a season-high and just two under his career-high of 31 which he set in February of 2017. He knocked down eight three pointers, which is also a season-high and is tied for second-most in a game in program history. Thurman added 23 points, five three pointers and five assists. The team shot 50-percent from the field and from three. The Falcons also outrebounded WLU, 39-38, and have now outrebounded their last seven opponents.

West Liberty came into the game leading the nation in points-per-game (104) and three point percentage, but NDC held them below both of those averages. Meininger finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. Dalton Bolon totaled 18 points and nine rebounds. The Hilltoppers shot just 47-percent from the floor and 31-percent from three point range.

Notre Dame finishes the regular season on the road, as they take on Urbana University. The game is scheduled for March 2, at 4 p.m.