WHEELING, W.Va. – The shots fell early for Notre Dame College, on Wednesday night, but Wheeling University did not go away. After falling behind by a point at halftime, NDC knocked down 25 free throws in the second half to defeat the Cardinals, 85-81.
 
The first three 3-pointers taken by the Falcons found the bottom of the net, and NDC led 9-2, a little over two minutes into the first half. After senior Jaedon Willis knocked down his second three of the game, with 17:05 on the clock, NDC led by double-digits, 12-2.
 
Willis had 14 points in the first half, 19 in the second and finished with a season-high 33 points. He made nine shots from the field, including seven threes, and went 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
 
Notre Dame was still shooting the ball very well as Willis found sophomore Obinna Ugwuakazi driving to the hoop for an easy layup and sophomore DeAirius Barker passed to sophomore Jevontae Jones for an open jumper. NDC maintained a nine-point lead.
 
With 5:23 to go before halftime, Willis was fouled and went to the free throw line, hitting both to give NDC a 27-20 lead. After that, Wheeling's offense went on a tear, knocking down seven shots in the final five minutes and going on a 16-8 run. Brent Price's layup went down with a few seconds on the clock and WU led 36-35 at halftime.
 
The second half was a battle as the teams went back-and-forth. The final 20 minutes featured nine lead changes and five ties.

The three-ball was falling for both teams, early in the second stanza. WU's Marcus Johnson connected on back-to-back threes and then Willis responded with a triple and a layup. One minute later, Barker hit a three to give NDC a 45-42 advantage.
 
Between the 14:41-mark and the 11:06-mark, the lead changed hands four times. The momentum began to swing in the Falcons' favor after a technical foul was called on the Cardinals. Willis hit two free throws and then graduate student Tyland Crawford was fouled and knocked down two more free throws on the same possession to give NDC a 55-52 lead, with 10:49 on the clock.
 
That was the beginning of a 17-4 run that allowed the Falcons to expand their lead to 12 points, 68-56, after Willis knocked down back-to-back three-pointers.
 
Notre Dame still led by 11 points with 4:34 to go, but Wheeling put together one last push to end the game. In what turned out to be a battle of free throw shooters, Wheeling went to the line six times in two possessions after a couple of fouls and a technical called on the Falcons.

In the final five minutes of the contest, 30 free throws were taken.

Wheeling's John Korte dunked with three minutes remaining and closed the deficit to three points, 72-69. The Falcons stayed ahead by making free throws. Barker was one of the main reasons NDC held the lead as he knocked down nine free throws in the second half, and went 10-for-10 at the line in the game.
 
Along with making a career-high number of free throws, Barker also set a career-high with 23 points.
 
The Falcons made a season-high 28 free throws in the game, which is also tied for eighth-most in program history. The team shot a season-best 90.3-percent from the line.
 
Notre Dame outrebounded Wheeling by one, 44-43, and Ugwuakazi helped out with a career-high 12 boards, including four on the offensive side. He grabbed ten of them in the second half.
 
NDC will be back home on Jan. 21, against Alderson Broaddus University. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.