WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – For the second time in the first four games of the season, Notre Dame College went up against a top-4 ranked team in NCAA Division II. On Tuesday, the Falcons battled No. 2 West Liberty University. The Falcons' Jevontae Jones posted a career-high 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, but West Liberty got past NDC, 109-84.

To start the game, the Falcons' sophomore Devin Haid ran into the lane as a shot went up, grabbed an offensive rebound and tipped the ball in to give Notre Dame an early lead.

Notre Dame brought down seven offensive rebounds in the first half and would end the contest with 13 offensive boards. The Falcons also out-rebounded West Liberty, 45-33, throughout the game.

WLU knocked down a pair of threes, but junior RJ Ogom put the Falcons back on top with baskets on back-to-back possessions. He grabbed a pass and took a couple dribbles into the paint, before putting up a mini hook shot that went down. The next time down the floor, a long pass by freshman Robbie Cass found Ogom, who made the layup as he was fouled. He made the free throw and gave Notre Dame a 7-6 lead with 17:12 remaining in the first half.

The Hilltoppers began to score and used a full court press to cause turnovers, which led to more points. They went on a 23-5 run and led 29-12, with 12:12 to go in the half.

Jones went on a 4-0 run for the Falcons to pull them within 16 points. With 4:28 on the first half clock, he grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back up and into the hoop. One minute later, he grabbed another offensive rebound and scored to make the score 40-24, in favor of the Hilltoppers.

Those would be the only points scored by Jones in the first half, but he had an incredible second half. The redshirt-sophomore had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the final 20 minutes of the contest. All of those second half stats would have set career-highs. He shot 6-for-6 from the field in the second half and finished the game going 8-for-9. His 88.9-percent shooting percentage is tied for sixth best in program history.

As a team, Notre Dame shot 61-percent (20-for-33) from the field in the second stanza.

NDC had 50 points in the paint throughout the game, four more than WLU. The Falcons also totaled nine blocks, which ranks tied for fourth most in program history and is the most in a game since the team blocked 12 shots in Dec. 2016.

Ogom finished the game with a team-high 19 points, while Cass scored in double-digits (11) for the first time in his career. Haid added 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
NDC will come home to play Glenville State, on Nov. 29, with a 7:30 start time.