SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Saturday's matchup between Notre Dame College and Fairmont State University featured many familiar faces on both sides and the teams brought the energy. The Falcons of Notre Dame came away with a hard-fought victory, 85-83, after two potential game-tying free throws were missed by FSU. NDC saw all five starters score in double-digits as the team shot 54-percent from the field.

The NDC Falcons grabbed the lead and held it through the first five minutes of the contest. Fairmont State's Jacob Brown knocked down a jumper with 14:27 on the clock to give FSU an 11-10 lead, but neither team was able to expand their lead above four points the rest of the first half. In fact, after falling down 13-10, Notre Dame's senior Drew Scarberry and freshman Jordan Burton combined to hit three 3-pointers and went on their own 9-2 run over three-and-a-half minutes to take the lead right back.

After multiple lead changes in the first stanza, Fairmont State put together a 7-0 run to end the half and led 40-36 at halftime. NDC head coach Mark Richmond admitted the halftime statistics looked a little scary. FSU had 15 more points off turnovers, seven more second chance points and 15 more points in the paint than Notre Dame.

On the bright side, Notre Dame was shooting 50-percent from the field and 54-percent from three-point range. They held FSU to 43-percent shooting and 27-percent three-point shooting. Scarberry had 10 points at the half, which included two 3-pointers.

Those one-sided halftime stats began to even up in the second half as Notre Dame adjusted. Almost immediately as the second half started, Cole VonHandorf knocked down a three pointer and Fairmont State went ahead by seven points.

That momentum, and Fairmont State's 10-0 run, came to a screeching halt when Brown was given a technical foul. NDC's sophomore Levi Frankland split the technical free throws, and that was the beginning of an 11-2 run that put Notre Dame back in front. A layup by Burton gave the Falcons a 47-45 advantage with 16:25 to go in the game.

The NDC Falcons began getting to the basket with ease. From the 15:52-mark to the 14:45-mark, Scarberry had two wide open dunks and Burton drove for a layup. NDC totaled 28 points in the paint in the second half, 12 more than Fairmont State.

Fairmont State took the lead back with 12:58 on the clock and did not give it back to Notre Dame until the 8:41-mark. However, FSU never expanded their lead past four points, leaving the door open.

"I felt like we were right there, we just needed to make a couple plays and have our composure and poise about us," Richmond said. "I wanted to make adjustments and do some different things and it payed off for us in the end."

Scarberry made a layup and was fouled, tying the game at 62. He hit the free throw and gave NDC a 63-62 lead with 8:41 to go. Notre Dame never trailed again.

With just 3:16 remaining in the second half, senior Bruce Hodges III threw a pass in the air allowing senior Deanthony Owens to jump up and throw down the alley-oop. That put NDC ahead by eight points, 77-69, which was the largest lead for either team.

"There isn't a category in the stat sheet for what Bruce means to us and some of the plays he makes," Richmond said. "He's got great timing and he makes heady plays. I thought some of those plays were the difference in the game. An offensive rebound and a couple steals. He's invaluable. DeAnthony gives us an athletic presence on the wing. I thought they had some trouble guarding him and I thought he played under control tonight."

"It was a lot of fun. They were playing hard, we were playing hard," Owens said. "When everybody digs deep, it's fun."

Owens had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the game while Hodges totaled 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. They combined to shoot 58-percent.

However, the game was far from over with Fairmont State's explosive offense that averages 89.2 points per game. Knocking down three pointers on two of their next three possessions was part of a 6-2 run, as the road team closed the deficit to four points.

With fewer than 30-seconds remaining, Kenzie Melko-Marshall hit a shot and was fouled. His successful free throw made the game a two-point difference, 84-82. After that free throw, the two teams combined to go 2-for-8 at the line, down the stretch. That allowed NDC to hold on for the win.

"This was one of the first games that we've had the same lineup in back-to-back games," Richmond mentioned. "I thought we competed today. We were obviously a little more tuned up than normal, which obviously helped us. When you look at five guys scoring in double-figures and all those rebounding numbers, it was a group effort. That's what I've been saying since day one, that's what we've got to be."

"It's been a date that has been circled," Hodges said. "We obviously wanted this win, but now we've got to come out and win at practice on Monday and Tuesday. I believe that if we do that, things will start going our way, because we're right there."

Scarberry scored 13 second half points and ended the game with 23 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Burton scored 17 points, shooting 62-percent from the field. Frankland had 13 points and seven rebounds. The NDC Falcons shot 58-percent in the second half and finished at 54-percent for the game, their third highest percentage of the season.

"It has been an emotional week for us," Scarberry said. "We had [this game] circled on our calendar since the beginning of the year and we knew it was coming up. It was a hard-fought win and getting this win feels good… We feel like the first half of the season was the learning experience for us, getting to know the system, the coaches, playing with different players. I think everyone is figuring out their roles and I think everyone is starting to click as a team."

And some of the scary looking halftime statistics looked a lot better after the game.

"We rose to the challenge," Richmond said. "Fairmont State had zero turnovers at the half and we had 10, that was a big key. We only had five turnovers in the second half and they had eight. They took 11 more shots than we did in the first half and we were able to close that margin and close out the game."

Going back to last season, Notre Dame has now defeated Fairmont State in three consecutive matchups.

NDC will stay home to take on West Virginia State University, on January 15. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.