SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Redshirt-senior Will Vorhees tied his career-high of 20 rebounds and scored 31 points as Notre Dame College put together another impressive defensive effort in their 78-53 victory over Shepherd University, on Thursday night.

The Falcons (15-6, 11-4 MEC) started the night strong as junior Larenz Thurman hit three, three pointers in the first four minutes of the game and Vorhees had hauled in 10 rebounds by the 11:34-mark. A jumper by the Lima, Ohio native, with 10:05 remaining in the first half, gave the Notre Dame a 26-6 advantage.

"At the beginning of the game, I wasn't having the best shooting night so I still wanted to help the team in any way possible," Vorhees said. "I knew we had to rebound to beat these guys, I just crashed every time. When you hustle to the rim, it's funny how you get lucky sometimes and the ball bounces to you. The ball fell my way tonight."

However, a 17-4 run gave Shepherd (10-11, 6-9 MEC) new life. With NDC locking down some of SU's top scorers, Jon Preston stepped up and scored 11 to help close the gap to seven points, 30-23, with three minutes to go.

Just before the clock struck one minute, sophomore Halil Parks knocked down a shot from long range to put NDC on top by 10 points, 35-25. That would be the halftime score as the two teams combined for one shot in the final minute.

After 20 minutes of action, Vorhees led the Falcons with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Preston had 16 points and four made three pointers for Shepherd.

In the second half, the Falcons had one hiccup before expanding their lead. After a Vorhees layup put Notre Dame on top by 12 points, Parks stole the ball but Vorhees could not convert the layup on the other end. On Shepherd's next possession, Winston Burgess was fouled and knocked down two free throws. Shepherd's Devin Smith then knocked down a three pointer, which capped the 5-0 run and made the score 37-30.

The defense then stepped up and the Falcons hit their shots, shooting 57-percent from the field in the second half after shooting just 38-percent in the first stanza.

"We had really good shot selection, with a few exceptions," head coach Tim Koenig said. "We didn't hit shots in the first half, we had a lot of open looks that we missed. But we took care of the ball. We handled the double team pretty well. Overall, I was really pleased."

After that quick run by SU, Vorhees, redshirt-junior Drew Scarberry and junior Bruce Hodges III put the offensive and defensive load on their shoulders. The trio combined to score all of the points during a 12-0 run with Scarberry also recording an assist, a block and a steal, Vorhees grabbing two rebounds and Hodges adding an assist.

That run propelled the Falcons to a 49-30 lead, with 15:58 remaining in the contest. They would push their lead to 30 points, twice, with less than three minutes to go in regulation.

Vorhees added 21 points and seven rebounds in the second half of the 78-53 win. He shot 43-percent from the field en route to his 31-point performance. He also made five of his six free throws. Vorhees now has 16 double-doubles and six games of 30, or more, points. And with 20 rebounds, he tied himself for third most in a single game at NDC.

"Last game, they (Shepherd) weren't doubling me at all, they played me straight up, and I think I scored 38 that game, so I had a pretty good day," Vorhees mentioned. "But today, my teammates were hitting shots and I was able to pass out of the double team. That left guys unsure if they wanted to commit to the double."

"There were a lot of opportunities (to grab rebounds) because they missed shots, but he's (Vorhees) unbelievable on the glass and that's the kind of effort we need," Koenig stated. "Hamish (Warden) didn't play that much, but he blocked out and got two rebounds, I thought he did a nice job. Scarberry, Hodges pitched in, as well. It was a great job on the glass."

Thurman gave Notre Dame 13 points and four assists, Scarberry added nine points and seven rebounds and Hodges had nine points, on 67-percent shooting, eight rebounds and six assists. Hodges had two more steals tonight and now has recorded at least one in 17 straight games. Notre Dame had 10 more rebounds and 14 additional points in the paint than SU. With eight consecutive home victories, this streak marks is the longest for the program since they won nine straight during the 2009-10 season.

For Shepherd, Preston finished with 23 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Smith added 11 points. Thomas Lang, who came into the game averaging 18.7 points, was held scoreless for the first time this season. The Rams shot 32-percent from the floor and 24-percent from three point range. The starting five shot just 18-percent.

"Let's start with Bruce Hodges, his assignment was Tommy Lang," Koenig explained. "Lang is one of the best guards in the league. He's had games where he has gone off for 36 points. That was impressive. HP (Parks) had his matchup with McKnight, that was impressive. McKnight had a couple open shots and he missed a couple. For the most part, their two best players just had to battle for open shots all night. But, it's a team game, Hamish and Drew were helping and rotating and Larenz and Will obviously helped, as well."

 "We have confidence in our offense, as a team," Vorhees said. "We know that will come, but for us to take the next step and be an elite team, we have to put together a 40-minute game of great defense and that's something we have stressed all year. When we're playing defense, we're tough to beat."

The Falcons will battle Fairmont State University on February 9. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.