SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – For just the second time since Notre Dame College joined the Mountain East Conference in 2013, the Notre Dame Falcons came out victorious against Fairmont State University, by a score of 90-84, on Saturday night. The win moves NDC one game out of second place in the MEC.

"I'm so proud of the guys," said head coach Tim Koenig, after the game. "We had contributions up and down the roster. I'm so thankful for the student section, season ticket holders and all the folks who are helping out. It was an unbelievable environment today. This place was packed and if it wasn't sold out, it was pretty close. A big thank you to our student body and the faculty and staff who came out."
 
Fairmont State (16-6, 13-3 MEC) was hitting their shots early in the contest. R.J. Hutcherson knocked down a three pointer and about two minutes later, Jason Jolly hit two free throws after a technical foul. On the same possession, Vonte Montgomery connected on a three.

After a couple missed shots by Notre Dame, Montgomery hit a layup and Jolly knocked down a triple to give FSU an eight point lead, 13-5, with 16:48 remaining. However, that would be the largest lead Fairmont State would hold.

On the other side, redshirt-senior Will Vorhees scored all of the Notre Dame's points to start the contest, making a layup and a three.

"I thought Will's floor game was one of the best of the year," Koenig mentioned. "A key blocked shot, rotating defensively, found the open man, handled the ball against the press, only had one turnover when he was getting double-teamed all night, got a big loose ball. The stuff that doesn't show up in the boxscore is equally as important as the stuff that does."

After falling down by eight, Notre Dame (16-6, 12-4 MEC) went on a 10-2 run over the next two and-a-half minutes to tie the game at 15. Over that run, the NDC defense allowed Fairmont State to take only two shots.

The two teams were locked in a tight battle, but FSU did not relinquish the lead through most of the first half. And then Notre Dame broke through and took their first lead since the 18-minute mark.

With 5:21 to go, freshman Hamish Warden sunk a layup to put NDC in front, 33-32, and they would never give the lead back. Warden's basket was a part of a 20-7 run by Notre Dame over an eight minute span to close the half. Notre Dame's defense held Fairmont State to 2-for-7 (29-percent) shooting from the field and caused two turnovers over the final eight minutes.

At halftime, Notre Dame led, 49-39. Vorhees had 22 points, on 69-percent shooting, and seven rebounds for NDC while Thurman had nine points, four rebounds and four assists. For Fairmont State, Montgomery poured in 18 points on 67-percent shooting.

Notre Dame kept their lead above five points until Montgomery hit a layup with 12:24 to go and cut the lead to four points, 61-57. He was also fouled and knocked down the free throw.

Later in the game, Fairmont State cut the deficit to two points several times, including with 13-seconds left. However, Notre Dame's freshman Isaiah Sanders and junior Larenz Thurman both hit a pair of free throws to seal the game.

"Hamish Warden and Isaiah Sanders made big free throws to finish the game out there," Koenig said. "Two freshmen knocking down clutch free throws. They haven't had opportunities at the end of the game to do that, but had their chance today and really stepped up."
 
The other major story that came out of the game was Vorhees taking first place on the all-time scoring list in Notre Dame history, surpassing former teammate Tyree Gaiter's mark of 2,421. Before the game, he was honored at center court with his family and a ball representing 2,000 career points. He currently sits at 2,425.

"It meant so much to me to be able to get the record in front of my family and my friends, here at home, not to mention being on the winning side of a huge game," said Vorhees. "It felt great and there's nothing like it."

"I'm just so proud of him, so happy," Koenig stated. "He's such a responsible leader, on and off the court. The guys all look up to him. I ask my son who his favorite player is and it's Will Vorhees, he calls him 'Big Will.' Will is the face of our program and we're so lucky and so fortunate to have him being the face of our program. We've had some great players play in the past, and Tyree (Gaiter) was unbelievable and I know Ty is going to give Will a big hug. I've run out of adjectives to describe him."
 
For the game, Montgomery led all scorers with 41 points, including 23 in the second half. He also had eight rebounds and six assists. Kenzie Melko added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jolly came into the contest making almost four threes-per-game and scoring 18.7 points-per-game. He was held to 11 points on 15-percent shooting. He only made two threes.
 
The Notre Dame Falcons were led by Vorhees, who finished with 34 points, nine rebounds, five offensive rebounds and two blocks. Thurman gave NDC 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Junior Bruce Hodges III added 13 points and eight rebounds. Although the Falcons did not shoot well from long distance, they shot 48-percent from the floor, overall, and scored 54 points in the paint. They outrebounded FSU, 45-38.
 
"We know what we're capable of doing," Koenig said. "We believe, if we play the right way, we have a chance of beating anybody and if play the wrong way, we can lose to anybody. We're very confident in our abilities and so grateful and so thankful that we get to play meaningful games this late in the season. It's a testament to how hard our guys have worked. We have great guys with great work ethics."
 
Notre Dame will take on Glenville State College, in a road battle on February 14. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.