SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Freshman John Godinez led Notre Dame College with 22 points off the bench and several players notched career-highs in an 87-71 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan College, on Wednesday evening.

NDC's Daylin Lee dunked the ball with 17:51 on the first half clock and pulled the Falcons within one point (6-5). But, turnovers and missed shots allowed West Virginia Wesleyan to go on an 11-4 run. With 13:42 remaining before halftime, NDC trailed by eight points, 17-9.

"We didn't start the game as well as I would have liked, but we settled in, in the middle of the first half," said head coach Mark Richmond.

After a missed shot, junior Sam Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound and that seemed to create a spark in the NDC offense. Junior Jaedon Willis took advantage of the second chance opportunity with a made shot. He would score seven consecutive points for NDC.

Willis made five shots and scored 12 points in the first half. He finished the game with 18 points, on 78-percent shooting from the field and 80-percent shooting from behind the three-point arc.

The shots started to fall later in the half for the Falcons, especially from long range. A three by Willis at the 6:28-mark, put the Falcons in front by two points (26-24). A response triple by WVWC's Braeden McGrew a couple minutes later gave Wesleyan the lead, but that would be the final time they held the advantage. Godinez and freshman DeAirius Barker knocked down back-to-back threes and NDC was rolling.

After West Virginia Wesleyan's Tommie Pope scored and both teams turned the ball over, Godinez found the bottom of the net for another three pointer. NDC scored the final eight points of the half, which included a three by Lee with 23-seconds on the clock, assisted by Godinez.

"Since I'm coming off the bench, I have to be aggressive," Godinez said. "We had a slump at the beginning, so I had to come in and bring energy. Once the first two shots went in, I just felt like, 'today is my day.'"

The Falcons opened the second stanza on a 9-2 run. Junior Michael Sampson had four points on the run with a layup and two free throws. Less than two minutes into the second half, NDC led by 18 points (49-31).

The Bobcats' offense continued to score with the Falcons. Notre Dame could not expand their lead past 19 points, until the 10:56-mark. Sophomore Obinna Ugwuakazi finished a tough layup and was fouled. He sank the foul shot and NDC led 65-45, with just under 11 minutes to go.

Ugwuakazi scored a career-high eight points and brought down a career-high five rebounds. He has also blocked a shot in three straight games.

The closest WVWC could get was 16 points. And the Falcons put the exclamation mark on the game as freshman Jamarr Talbert Jr. stole the ball and threw down a massive dunk with 2:22 to go. Then Godinez took three consecutive threes and made two of them.

Godinez posted 14 second half points on 63-percent shooting from the floor. He totaled 22 points and knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers.

"John is a guy we trust," Richmond mentioned. "He had a few rough games shooting the ball, so today was good to allow him to play an extended amount. I thought he did a good job of running the show late."

Freshman Gbolahan Adio posted career-highs with six rebounds and four assists. Barker tied a career-high with eight rebounds to go along with nine points.

"I was happy with our effort," Richmond said. "We had 19 assists on 31 made baskets, so we shared the ball and moved it pretty well. And shot a good percentage."

NDC shot 59-percent from the field in the second half and 54-percent for the game. The Falcons also went 12-for-25 (48-percent) from three.

On Feb. 5, Notre Dame battles Davis & Elkins College, on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.