SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College secured its first win of 2021 on Monday. Led by 15 points and nine assists from Jordan Roland and 19 points and seven rebounds from Jordan Burton, the Falcons defeated Wheeling University, 75-69.

This game was originally scheduled for Jan. 10, but had been postponed.

Throughout the first half, the two teams tied seven times and the lead changed hands five times. The biggest run of the half happened near the midway point. Wheeling's Toren Portee knocked down a jumper to tie the game at 15 with 11:27 on the clock. The Cardinals then went on a 15-4 run over nearly five minutes.

Down 11 points, the Falcons responded quickly. NDC scored six straight points, which included two free throws and a three pointer by sophomore Jordan Burton. Notre Dame trailed by just five points, 30-25, with 5:11 to go before halftime.

Burton had 11 points in the first half after coming off the bench for the first time this season.

"I thought Jordan [Burton] would get us a scoring lift off the bench," said head coach Mark Richmond. "There's been a few times where we didn't get off to a great start and had to put some other guys in. I just knew that Jordan would be able to come in and score the ball, that's what he does. We want him to be aggressive. I think the key for him is taking great shots."

"I just go out there and try to play my game," Burton said. "That's what it was."

A free throw by Jordan Reid gave WU a four-point lead with under two minutes left, but Notre Dame closed out the half scoring the final four points as junior Jordan Roland scored twice to tie the game at 36 at the half.

Notre Dame came out of the locker room with energy. A made shot, a steal and a three-point basket gave the Falcons a quick 41-36 advantage with 18:41 remaining in the game.

"Coach said, 'be aggressive, push it in transition and play our game.' I think that's what we did tonight, we shared the ball," Burton said. "And that made our offense pretty good tonight."

Going back to the final minute-and-a-half of the first half, Notre Dame was on a 9-0 run. Roland scored or assisted on every one of those points. He finished the game with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

"I thought Jordan [Roland] was huge," Richmond said. "He was sniffing a triple-double. He made really good plays for us, made good decisions. He was key today."

Wheeling still had another run in them, scoring 12 straight points to take a 56-50 lead with 9:13 to go in the game.

NDC stayed close and tied the game several times, but did not take the lead until freshman Jevontae Jones scored on a layup attempt, giving the Falcons a 64-62 lead with 2:26 on the clock.

Notre Dame sealed the game by making 6-of-7 free throws in the final minute.

"It's good for us to get some momentum going and win at home," Burton mentioned. "We lost the first one, but we bounced back with this one and we're trying to win the next one."

NDC led Wheeling in several statistical categories, but the one that stuck out to the coaching staff was the rebounding numbers. Notre Dame outrebounded WU by 17 (44-27), including a 14-3 advantage on the offensive glass.

"I think we should be able to dominate some teams on the glass," Richmond said. "There are some good rebounding teams in our league, but with our size and athleticism, I thought that was key... Getting 14 offensive rebounds is huge, and limiting them to three was the difference in the game."

Junior Tyland Crawford (16 points, eight rebounds) and freshman John Godinez (10 points) both started and gave the Falcons a boost. NDC shot 45-percent (29-for-65) in the game.

The Falcons will get ready to play No. 21 Fairmont State University at home on Jan. 20. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.