SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The baskets were filling up in the first half as Notre Dame College shot 46-percent from the field and Fairmont State University finished the half at 50-percent shooting and took the lead. Late in the second half, Notre Dame closed the deficit to five points, but Fairmont State held on for the 88-79 win.
 
The game was a back-and-forth battle through the first 14 minutes. Fairmont State hit its first two shots, but NDC responded quickly.
 
Senior Daylin Lee made his presence known for NDC early and often in the first half. Near the beginning of the game, he sent the ball over to senior Jaedon Willis, who converted the first Notre Dame bucket. About a minute later, sophomore Gbolahan Adio blocked a shot and Lee finished with a layup on the other end and drew a foul. He completed the three-point play.
 
Lee finished the first half with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He would end the game with 18 points, which tied a season-high.
 
Notre Dame began heating up as Adio sank a three to tie the contest at eight. After Fairmont State's Fonz Hale completed a three-point play, NDC's sophomore Jamarr Talbert Jr. went down the court and made a layup. Sophomore Obinna Ugwuakazi kept an NDC possession alive with an offensive rebound before connecting on a layup to give Notre Dame a 12-11 lead.
 
Fairmont State went on an 8-2 run to grab a 19-14 lead, but sophomore Andre Harris responded with a three and then graduate student Tyland Crawford knocked down back-to-back shots, a layup and a three. With 11:52 remaining in the first half, the NDC Falcons held a 22-21 advantage.
 
Harris and Crawford would both finish the game scoring in double-digits. Harris had his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with three steals, which tied his season-high. Crawford also tied his season-high with 12 points.
 
With under 11 minutes remaining before halftime, Lee caught fire, again, and went on a personal 9-3 run. He knocked down two 3-pointers and was fouled on one of them for a four-point play. He then grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back up to give Notre Dame a 31-29 advantage with under nine minutes on the clock. Overall, from the 10:36-mark until the 6:48-mark, he would score 11 consecutive points for NDC.
 
The Fairmont State Falcons then began hitting just about every long range shot they put up. In the final seven minutes of the first half, they made five three-pointers. The final three went through the hoop with 23-seconds left and Notre Dame was down by 10 points, 53-43.
 
NDC left the locker room and found the bottom of the net, as they scored the first five points of the second half to close within five, 53-48. Fairmont State responded with an 8-1 run to expand the lead back to 12 points, 61-49, with 14:24 remaining in the game.
 
The FSU Falcons' largest lead was 16, 72-56, with 9:16 on the clock, but NDC did not go away. Willis knocked down a three, with an assist from sophomore DeAirius Barker, and then knocked down three of his four free throws after a Fairmont State personal foul and technical foul. That cut the FSU lead to eight points.
 
Willis finished the day with 16 points.
 
Fairmont pushed its lead back to double-digits, momentarily, but NDC went on a 9-2 run. Fairmont State struggled to make shots in the final four minutes, missing three field goals and three free throws. They also turned the ball over twice in that span. With 32-seconds remaining, Notre Dame trailed by just five points, 84-79, but that would be as close as they could get.
 
"I thought we didn't do a good enough job of getting stops in the first half," head coach Mark Richmond said. "Down the stretch, we did a better job of getting the game into our style and I thought we played better defensively in the second half."
 
Notre Dame will stay home to play No. 17 West Virginia State, on Jan. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.