WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – In the season opener on Thursday night, Notre Dame College took a 30-29 lead late in the first half and shot 58-percent from three-point range before halftime, but No. 8 West Liberty University regained the lead and went on to win, 98-77.

The Falcons came out shooting the ball very well, making seven of their first 10 three-pointers in the game. Sophomore Jordan Burton was in mid-season form as he was 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from three in the first ten minutes of the game.

A steal and a layup by junior Jordan Roland tied the game at 21 with 9:32 remaining in the first half. West Liberty then went on an 8-1 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes, but NDC started knocking shots down. Junior Tyland Crawford connected on back-to-back threes before Roland hit another shot to cap an 8-0 run and put the Falcons on top 30-29 with 5:40 to go before the half.

West Liberty turned up their defensive pressure and closed out the half on a 17-6 run, leading 46-36 at the break. Jordan Burton led the Falcons with 16 points at halftime and, as a team, NDC shot 43-percent from the field and 58-percent from three.

The Falcons continued to shoot the ball well in the second stanza and went 15-for-26 (58-percent) from the field in the final 20 minutes. Jordan Roland had 10 of his 17 points in the second half and Jordan Burton added eight points to give him a career-high 24 points in the game. West Liberty shot 54-percent in the second half, but took 13 more shots than NDC.

"I thought we competed for the most part, I wasn't happy with our effort on the glass," said head coach Mark Richmond. "We should be a good rebounding team. We've got to be much more together as a team. It wasn't unexpected because it's the first game, but we can't be just a bunch of individuals out there. Four assists and 19 turnovers won't beat any team in our league. We have plenty to work on but I'm glad we were able to get back out there and play someone else."

Notre Dame hit nine three-pointers in the contest, which is the most threes made in a season opener for the program since they hit 10 at the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign.

Pat Robinson III and Dalton Bolon both scored 20 points for the Hilltoppers, who shot 49-percent as a team. WLU took advantage of 20 second chance points and 20 points off turnovers.

NDC hosts Wheeling University in the home opener on Jan. 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.