SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College improved to 3-0 this season when playing inside Murphy Gymnasium, but Glenville State University did not go away quietly. The Falcons led by eight at halftime, but GSU grabbed a lead in the second half. Another 20-point game by Jaedon Willis and a career-high scoring night for Jamarr Talbert Jr. pushed NDC to victory, on Wednesday night.
 
The game was tied at nine after the first six minutes of action. Both teams struggled to hit shots consistently, early in the contest.
 
Glenville State manufactured the first run of the contest. After the ball was turned over back-and-forth, GSU's Jamarvious Jones stole the ball and scored on a fast break layup. That was the beginning of a 7-0 run, and after a three-pointer by Jones with 10:52 remaining in the first, the Pioneers led 16-9.
 
"It took a little bit for us to get going, sometimes that happens after an extended holiday break," said head coach Mark Richmond. "I thought we did a decent job of finishing out the first half. We had a little bit of a lead. I was happy with our defense in the first half."
 
The Falcons then turned the game around when Glenville State began to miss shots. Over nearly two minutes of game action, Notre Dame responded with an 8-0 run. The Pioneers missed three three-point shots and turned the ball over, once, as Notre Dame took a 17-16 advantage.
 
Notre Dame closed out the first half with a statement run. After Glenville State went back up by five, 22-17, NDC shut the Pioneers down in the final 7:27 of the half and went on a 17-4 scoring outburst. The Falcons led 34-26 at halftime. Notre Dame shot 40-percent and held Glenville State to 31-percent shooting.
 
During that final run of the half, the Falcons forced six turnovers, sophomore Jevontae Jones had seven points and Willis knocked down back-to-back threes after his teammates stole the ball. Notre Dame had 16 points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
NDC hauled in six steals in the first half and they all came after the nine-minute mark. The Falcons finished the game with 10 steals and have recorded double-digit takeaways in two of their last three games.
 
The Falcons had 16 points in the paint in the first half and 18 in the second, which was part of the plan.

"We really wanted to attack the rim," Talbert said. "The base of the offense was to get to the basket as much as we could."
 
In the first three minutes of the second stanza, Talbert's three-pointer was the only basket made. Glenville State totaled three turnovers in that span, as the teams tried to find a way through the early struggles.
 
Graduate student Tyland Crawford, who came off the bench after missing the past two games with injury, made his presence known with two layups and a three-pointer early in the second half. He kept the Falcons' lead at double-digits.

Crawford would finish the contest with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds in 23 minutes.
 
Glenville State clawed back into the game and took the lead. Notre Dame led by 10 points, 46-36, with 12:15 remaining in the game, but turnovers began to plague the Falcons. An 11-0 Glenville State run, with Jay Scott scoring seven of the GSU points, gave the Pioneers a 47-46 lead.
 
The teams traded the lead once, and then Notre Dame started to find the bottom of the basket, again. Willis and Talbert knocked down shots from long range on back-to-back possessions. Then, after NDC had three chances on a possession with two offensive rebounds, Talbert scored on a jumper from close range.
 
After the game, Talbert said the team needed a boost to get back on track and retake the lead.
 
"Bringing the energy," he mentioned. "Coach was preaching to us that we were relaxing and we had to turn the energy back up."
 
A DeAirius Barker three capped a 13-2 NDC run and gave the Falcons a 61-51 advantage, with under six minutes remaining. But, Glenville State would not go away. With less than two minutes to go, two layups and two successful free throws brought GSU within three points, 72-69.
 
In the final minute, Barker and Willis both hit a pair of free throws to keep Notre Dame ahead by three points. With 16 seconds left, the Pioneers had three chances to tie the game, with multiple offensive boards, but missed all three of those shots.
 
"We made a couple shots [in the second half] and we took care of the ball for the most part," Richmond said. "Luckily we had a big enough lead that we were able to hang on at the end. There were some questionable plays down the stretch and we have to do a much better job of closing the game out."
 
Glenville State shot 39-percent from the field and 23-percent from behind the three points arc. On the other side, NDC shot the ball at 46-percent and 39-percent from three. Willis scored 22 points on 50-percent shooting, while Talbert had a career-high 14. Barker scored 11 points off the bench.
 
Notre Dame will head to Athens, W.Va. for a meeting with Concord University, on Dec. 3. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.