SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Less than a week after their first matchup of the season, Notre Dame College came out on top against Fairmont State University on Monday night, winning by a score of 96-85. The NDC Falcons set a season-high in both field goal percentage (56.5-percent) and assists (18).

A three pointer by Fairmont State's Dale Bonner broke a 9-9 tie with 16:04 to go in the first half. FSU would hold that lead throughout much of the first stanza. Notre Dame was able to tie the game twice the rest of the half, but could not take the lead.

A free throw with less than a minute remaining gave Fairmont their 42-41 halftime lead. Notre Dame shot 60-percent (18-for-30) in the first half to keep the game close. For NDC, junior Jordan Roland scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Fairmont State made three more 3-pointers and six more free throws than NDC to stay in front.

Head coach Mark Richmond spoke about what the team has learned from the close games they have played this season.

"[Fairmont] was definitely fresh in our mind," he said. "I knew if we could keep it close and have a chance at halftime, the second half would be in our favor and we could close it out down the stretch. We learned a lot from the [Feb. 13] game against West Liberty. We weren't able to close that one, but you have a young team who has been through it in the same situations."

The game moved very quickly at the beginning of the second half. Junior Tyland Crawford knocked down a three pointer and then freshman John Godinez connected on back-to-back layups, one off a missed Fairmont basket and the other following an NDC steal. The NDC Falcons led, 48-42, with 18:31 remaining in the game.

"We've got a lot of shooters and guys who can make plays on the team," said Jordan Roland. "As long as we share the ball, we'll score a lot of points."

And Notre Dame continued to pour it in throughout the half. FSU tied the game, once, but Notre Dame never allowed them to take the lead in the second half.

Fairmont State closed within two points with just under 17 minutes to go, but NDC responded as Crawford knocked down a three. A few minutes later, NDC's lead shrunk to one point, 55-54, before freshman Jevontae Jones stole the ball and passed it to junior Michael Sampson, who slammed it home.

The Falcons had a season-high 18 assists, dishing out nine in each half.

"I thought we really shared the ball," Richmond said. "We were able to get some penetration and I thought we did a good job of making that extra pass. [Fairmont] was sticking to our guys, so we made the extra pass and got some easy ones for guys like Mike [Sampson] and Tyland [Crawford]."

After the contest was tied at 57, with 12:21 on the second half clock, NDC went on a 15-4 run. Their lead was in double-digits, 72-61, for the first time all game.

Three free throws by Bonner, who had 35 points in the game, pulled FSU within four points, 88-84, with 36-seconds to go. But, Fairmont State only score one more point the rest of the way as NDC outscored them by seven.

"That was a great win for us because last time we played them, we didn't play up to our potential and coach was on us and our defense was bad," Roland mentioned. "But tonight, we came out and played hard."

Notre Dame's 55 second half points were the most scored by NDC in a half all season. They shot 53-percent from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 56.5-percent for the game. The NDC Falcons outrebounded FSU by 12, 36-24.

Sampson tied a program record by going 9-for-9 from the field. He scored a season-high 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Roland scored 24 points and made a season-high nine free throws. Crawford had 17 points and sophomore Jordan Burton added 10.

Notre Dame stays home to face Frostburg State University on Feb. 24. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.