SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College trailed No. 13 West Liberty University by just one point in the second half and held the top scoring team in Division II to 86 points. Ultimately, NDC fell by a score of 86-72, on Wednesday evening, but the Falcons learned more about themselves, according to Head Coach Mark Richmond.

After a missed West Liberty layup was hauled in by senior Drew Scarberry at one end, it did not take long for the ball to get down the court, into the hands of senior Deanthony Owens. He dunked the ball and was fouled, immediately igniting the crowd. Owens had 11 of the Falcons' first 14 points in the game and he would finish the first half with 14 points.

"We made a conscious effort to play inside-out," Richmond said. "We thought we could get it to the rim and we could play inside. They were switching everything, so we thought we could post some of their smaller guards. DeAnthony came out really aggressive and set the tone with that first possession."

West Liberty started heating up on offense as they knocked down four 3-pointers before the first media timeout. With 14:44 on the clock, NDC trailed 16-9. But, the Falcons continued to fight their way back into the game.

"These last three games, we've played regionally ranked teams (Charleston, West Virginia State, West Liberty)," Richmond mentioned. "We've been in all three… That's a testament to our team, that we have continued to fight and claw."

Sophomore Levi Frankland knocked down a three and then stole the ball. He found Owens who slammed it down, again. After that, both teams traded three-point buckets and Notre Dame was down by just two points, 19-17, with 13:17 on the clock.

Before NDC could tie the game, West Liberty went on a 4-0 run. Owens would cut the Falcons' deficit to three points, 25-22, around the 10-minute mark, but the Hilltoppers responded with a run that increased their lead to nine points. Their lead was at nine points, 45-36, when the first half ended.

Notre Dame shot the ball well, and finished the half with a 47-percent shooting percentage, and they shot 6-for-9 from outside the three-point line. West Liberty was led by Pat Robinson III who finished the first 20 minutes of action with 15 points, on 50-percent shooting, and six rebounds. The Hilltoppers shot the ball at 53-percent.

"I thought the difference in the first half was that we missed some of those layups," Richmond said. "We missed four or five and I thought they made four or five tough ones. If we could have converted a handful of those layups in the first half, maybe the second half is a little different."

But, Notre Dame found a way to get right back into the game when the second half started. An 11-3 run over the first three-and-half minutes of the second half put the Falcons within striking distance, down just one point, 48-47. During the run, Owens had four points and Scarberry added five.

Dalton Bolon, who only had nine points in the first half, hit back-to-back threes. In between Bolon's threes, Frankland knocked down a long range shot to keep Notre Dame down by just four points, 54-50.

West Liberty's Will Yoakum split a pair of free throws before NDC started a 5-2 run. With 14:39 on the clock, the Hilltoppers led by just two points, 57-55, following a layup by Frankland.

NDC then went cold from the field and turned the ball over a couple times, which allowed West Liberty to build an 11-point advantage with a 9-0 run. Marlon Moore Jr. gave WLU seven of the points during the run.

Notre Dame then cut the WLU lead to six points, 68-62, with just 7:40 on the clock, after a 7-2 run. Freshman Jordan Burton had five points during that run.

West Liberty would respond with the next seven points, which pushed their lead to 13 points with 4:26 remaining in the game. Their lead never sunk below double-digits the rest of the way.

Owens added 10 points in the second half and ended the game with 24 points on 63-percent shooting. Frankland added 14 points on 63-percent shooting. Burton gave NDC 11 points and four assists, while Scarberry finished with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

"I thought we played really hard," Richmond said. "I was pleased that we only had nine turnovers. Obviously, if you turn the ball over against them, they get easy baskets and they get going. I thought taking care of the ball helped with our offense."

WLU came into the game averaging 105.3 points per game. Tonight was just the fourth time this season that West Liberty was held below 90 points in a game. The Hilltoppers shot 48-percent.

"Defensively, as a team, I thought we did ok," Richmond mentioned. "I told the guys before the game that we couldn't score 110 to 120 points with them. We knew we had to keep it around 90, and we were under that, which gave ourselves a chance. We cut it down to one a couple times in the second half, but they hit big shots."

The Falcons will end the regular season in Urbana University on February 29. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.