SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College took the floor in Murphy Gymnasium for the final time this season, on Wednesday. The No. 8 ranked West Liberty University Hilltoppers were able to get past the Falcons by a score of 100-57.
 
The teams were nearly even shooting the ball in the first half. West Liberty shot the ball at 44-percent in the first 20 minutes, while NDC was at 41-percent from the field.
 
Sophomore Obinna Ugwuakazi had four points, very early in the contest. With 16:10 on the first half clock, sophomore DeAirius Barker passed inside to Ugwuakazi for his second made layup of the contest, giving the Falcons a 6-4 lead.
 
In the first 5:10 of the game, the two teams traded the lead six times and the score was tied three times.
 
West Liberty began to force turnovers and went on a 10-0 run to grab a 19-11 lead over the Falcons. Notre Dame did not fall away, and they continued to fight back. With about nine minutes left in the half, Barker stole the ball, but missed a layup on the other side. Sophomore Isaiah Sanders was running behind the play and in the right place to follow the miss with a put-back dunk. A minute-and-a-half later, sophomore Jamarr Talbert Jr. found graduate student Tyland Crawford cutting to the basket for two more points.
 
With 3:36 remaining before halftime, West Liberty's Bryce Butler made a layup to give WLU a 39-22 lead. Immediately on the other side of the court, senior Jaedon Willis set up senior Daylin Lee for a three. The Falcons then put together a small run before the halftime break.
 
Willis split a pair of free throws and, on the next possession, Ugwuakazi grabbed an offensive rebound and knocked down a layup to cap the NDC 6-0 run.
 
When the first half buzzer rang, Notre Dame was in the midst of a 10-5 run and trailed by just 12 points, 44-32. In the final minute of the half, Barker hit two free throws and Lee drove to the basket for a layup.
 
Lee and Ugwuakazi both shot 4-for-5 from the floor in the first stanza. Lee had 10 points, while Ugwuakazi totaled eight points and eight rebounds.
 
To start the second half, WLU took momentum and went on a 7-1 run to lead 51-33. The Falcons responded, and it began with another layup by Ugwuakazi. NDC took advantage of missed shots by the Hilltoppers as Barker knocked down a layup and was fouled. He made his free throw. On the next possession, Barker hit another shot and the Falcons were down by just 11 points, 51-40, with 15:44 remaining in the game.
 
That would be as close as Notre Dame would get the rest of the way. The Hilltoppers would go on to score 56 points in the second half.
 
Sophomore Kaleb Torrence was a bright spot for the Falcons in the second half, scoring 10 points.
 
NDC will travel to Alderson Broaddus University, on Feb. 25, to end the regular season. That game will begin at 4 p.m.