SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – A 12-2 run by Notre Dame College at the end of the first half gave the Falcons a 36-32 lead going into the break. Three lead changes took place in the second half, but Alderson Broaddus University snuck by with a 71-70 win.

Junior Jaedon Willis found his shot early in the contest, putting the first points on the scoreboard with a three pointer. With 13:17 to go in the first half, Willis hit another three to give the Falcons a 12-11 advantage. In the first 10 minutes of the game, he had scored or assisted on 11 of the Falcons' 17 points.

Willis had 11 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 21 points to go along with five assists.

Alderson Broaddus' largest lead of the first half was six. With just 3:30 on the first half clock, a jumper by AB's Jalen Knott made the score 30-24. The Falcons started their run as freshman Obinna Ugwuakazi stepped up. He put his second shot of the day in the basket and then was fouled on the next possession and made two free throws. Freshman Jamarr Talbert Jr. hit a long three pointer to give Notre Dame a 31-30 lead with under two minutes to go.

With two seconds on the clock, Willis put up a tough three-point shot at the buzzer. The shot came up short, but junior Sam Jackson caught the ball and guided it into the hoop to put the Falcons on top 36-32 at the end of the first stanza. Alderson Broaddus went 1-for-5 from the floor in final 3:30 of the half, however, the Battlers still finished the half shooting the ball at 56-percent.

Early in the second half, Jackson grabbed his own miss and laid the ball up to put NDC in front 38-32. The Falcons would hold a sizeable advantage until AB went on a run. An Alderson Broaddus three pointer and a layup tied the contest at 41 with 16:12 remaining. Then a turnover gave the Battlers the ball and John Grayson hit a layup in the paint to give Alderson Broaddus a 43-41 lead.

At the 14:33-mark, junior Daylin Lee scored from long range and Notre Dame went up, 46-45. But the Battlers would quickly retake the lead and, although their lead would never exceed eight points, never gave it away for the rest of the contest.

Notre Dame did put together a few runs. A 7-0 run cut the AB lead down to one point, 55-54, with 9:03 remaining.

Down five points with 12 seconds on the clock, junior Tyland Crawford was fouled and split a pair of free throws.

Crawford had nine points on 80-percent shooting in the first stanza and ended the game with 17 points and eight boards.

The Falcons intentionally fouled Knott and, on a one-and-one bonus, he missed the free throw. Willis took the ball down the court and put up a shot with seconds left, drawing a foul. He knocked down all three free throws, but NDC fell just short.

Junior Michael Sampson had five offensive rebounds and ended the game with 12 total boards.

Notre Dame will play their next game on the road as they face Concord University on Jan. 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.