SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – After a loss to Concord University on Dec. 3, Notre Dame College had Wednesday night's game circled on the calendar. The Falcons and Mountain Lions entered this contest with identical 7-5 conference records, tied for sixth in the standings, while closing in on the final month of the regular season. Sophomore DeAirius Barker led the way with 20 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists as NDC defeated Concord, 84-75.
 
Notre Dame got out to another fast start, scoring the first six points of the game. The Falcons led 17-5, with 14:10 on the clock, after three consecutive three-point plays. Barker and sophomore Jamarr Talbert Jr. each knocked down three-pointers and then senior Jaedon Willis scored with a two-point jumper, was fouled and hit the free throw.
 
The Mountain Lions closed the gap to single-digits, but NDC quickly pushed the lead back up to 10. Sophomore Obinna Ugwuakazi put in his third layup of the game and had six first half points at the 12-minute mark. He would finish the game with 12 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds for his first career double-double.
 
A 14-6 Concord run put the visitors right back into the game. Amare Smith hit a pair of free throws to make the score 29-25, in favor of the Falcons. CU's Lual Rahama had 10 of the Mountain Lions' 14 points during the run. He totaled 18 in the first half.
 
Rahama knocked down a jumper with a minute left before halftime, but, on the other end, Barker sent a pass over to sophomore Kaleb Torrence, who connected from long range. At halftime, NDC led 40-32.
 
Barker had 13 points and 10 rebounds as the teams went into their locker rooms. However, seven of his assists on the night came in the second half.
 
"I felt good and the team gave me energy," Barker said. "Coach said that we needed to rebound, so I tried to put an emphasis on that. Other than that, I just wanted to win."
 
"We talked a lot about rebounding," head coach Mark Richmond said. "We let [Concord] dominate on the glass at their place, earlier in the season. We've pointed to that game a lot throughout the year. Today was kind of our revenge game. [Barker] took that to heart and had ten rebounds at the half, but I'm really proud of his nine assists. He shared the ball and got guys open."
 
To start the second half, Talbert knocked down a three to give the Falcons a 43-32 lead. However, the Mountain Lions went on a 12-2 run over three minutes and trailed by just one point, 45-44, with 16:04 remaining in the game.
 
The Falcons had gone extremely cold on the offensive end and desperately needed a basket. The obvious answer was Barker, who stepped up with a three-pointer to start an NDC run. A steal led to a layup by senior Daylin Lee and, after another Concord turnover, Barker was fouled and went to free throw line. He made both shots.
 
NDC's top scorer Jaedon Willis started the game 2-for-13 from the field and did not make a three in the first half. That all changed quickly in the final 13 minutes of the game. At the 12:58-mark, he made his first basket of the second stanza, a three-pointer that put the Falcons up by seven.
 
He would knock down three additional 3-pointers the rest of the way and make 10 free throws for 22 second half points. He led all scorers after finishing with 29.
 
"Jaedon was pressing a little bit, trying to get it going," Richmond mentioned. "I thought he settled down and took what they gave him, late in the game. He made a couple big shots and then made free throws to maintain that lead, down the stretch."
 
"It's amazing [to play at the same time as Willis]," Barker said. "He gets going, I get going. It's just great energy, I love it."
 
The Falcons stretched the lead to nine, but Rahama made sure CU did not go away quietly. On back-to-back possessions, he knocked down a jumper and then hit a three to close the deficit to four, 57-53. That would be as close as the Mountain Lions would get the rest of the way.
 
Ugwuakazi made a layup, was fouled and hit the and-1 free throw. After Concord came up empty on the next possession, Willis hit a three for a six-point swing with less than 10 minutes remaining.
 
With 7:23 to go, Barker stole the ball and found Torrence for a layup. Barker also added three steals to his resume on Wednesday.
 
In the final six minutes of the contest, Willis went 9-for-9 at the free throw line and made a three-pointer.
 
Notre Dame outrebounded the Mountain Lions, 45-38. The Falcons grabbed 18 offensive boards, which is tied for the most by NDC in a game this season. Torrence had four of those offensive rebounds and set a new career-mark with eight total boards.
 
NDC also accumulated eight steals and scored 10 more points off turnovers than Concord (19-9).
 
The Falcons are now 8-5 in conference play this season and are tied for fifth place with Glenville State University. NDC will battle the Pioneers, on Jan. 28, in Glenville, W.Va.