SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – For the second consecutive game, Notre Dame College battled a team near the top of the conference standings that had 10 wins, overall, and five conference wins. For the second consecutive game, the Falcons shot the ball extremely well and had a chance at an upset. On Wednesday night, NDC held a 41-40 halftime lead, but West Virginia State University found a way to comeback and grabbed a 94-85 win.

While the Falcons shot 52-percent in the first half, West Virginia State shot the ball at a 60-percent mark, on the other side. Despite that, Notre Dame still held the lead through much of the first 20 minutes.

A three-pointer by sophomore Levi Frankland gave NDC their first lead at 13-10 with 14:59 on the clock. That three was in the middle of a 17-3 run that the Falcons put together, giving the home team a 24-13 advantage with 11:30 remaining in the first half. They hit three 3-pointers on that run, which included a four-point play when senior Drew Scarberry hit a long range shot and was fouled. The Falcons were also sharing the ball well, as four of the six field goals during the run had an assist credited.

"I was proud of our offense, especially when we got it in the half court," head coach Mark Richmond said. "Our goal was to be really efficient and make them guard us in the half court, because we thought we could score and get great shots. We've been playing the right way, sharing the ball. We just can't get sped up and turn it over."

Notre Dame would hold onto that lead until a 10-0 run by the Yellow Jackets in a little over a minute put WVSU on top, 38-36 with 3:14 remaining in the half. West Virginia State shot 4-for-4 from the field on their run.

Notre Dame fought back as senior Daniel Lott came off the bench and scored two quick buckets in the final 62 seconds before halftime, giving NDC a 41-40 lead at the break. Lott would finish the game shooting 6-for-7 with 12 points.

"Dan's been there for us several times this year," Richmond said. "I'm proud of his effort, he just continues to work hard. He's earned more minutes as the year has progressed."

Frankland led the team with 13 points in the first half and freshman Jordan Burton had nine. As a team, NDC grabbed 18 rebounds, six on the offensive end, and totaled nine assists. By comparison, WVSU had just 11 rebounds, no offensive boards, and five assists.

To start the second half, Yellow Jackets' Glen Abram knocked down a three, but Burton scored for Notre Dame to tie the game at 43. After that point, Jeremiah Moore and Glen Abram each made a layup on two of the next three West Virginia State possessions, which was a precursor to the Yellow Jackets' 28 points in the paint in the second half.

"They had a concerted effort to go to the glass in the second half," Richmond stated. "They put their heads down and drove and they had 53 points in the paint, which is a hard pill to swallow."

A 16-4 run by W.Va. State over four minutes put the Falcons in a tough spot, down 59-47, with 14:48 to play. But the lead did not exceed 12 points and Notre Dame used the three-point shot to get right back into the game.

The Falcons put together a 9-2 run, using three pointers by freshman Ryan Cartaino, Frankland and Scarberry, and NDC trailed by just five points, 61-56, with 13:14 on the lock.

West Virginia State looked vulnerable as NDC put together a couple runs to close within two points. The latest coming with 6:39 left, after a layup by Frankland made the score 77-75. However, the Yellow Jackets never trailed in the second half and they pulled away after the late scare by the tune of a 9-0 run.

"I thought we played with great effort," Richmond explained. "I know we ran out of juice there, toward the end of the first half and then we didn't have a ton of timeouts in the second to give the guys a break. [West Virginia State] ended the game with three timeouts, so I know it was a concerted effort on their part to wear us down, not giving us extra breaks. They were aware we were short-handed and that's what pressing teams do, [the press] catches up to you."

Notre Dame shot 60-percent in the second half and 56-percent for the game, marking the second straight game that they shot over 50-percent. Frankland scored 12 second half points and finished with 25. Burton had 15 points while Scarberry added 14 points and six rebounds.

For West Virginia State, Anthony Pittman and Glen Abram combined for 34 second half points. Pittman finished with 30 points, on 67-percent shooting, and Abram had 24 points, on 58-percent shooting. As a team, WVSU shot 54-percent from the field and ended up tying NDC in the rebounding margin, at 31.

NDC will travel to Charleston, W.Va. to play the University of Charleston on January 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.