PHILIPPI, W.Va. – With the Mountain East Conference Tournament less than a week away, Notre Dame College went on the road to finish the regular season against Alderson Broaddus University, on Saturday. AB shot the ball well in the second half and won 79-73, despite 28 points from NDC senior Jaedon Willis.
 
The Falcons were getting to the basket right away and sophomore DeAirius Barker had posted six points, all with layups, over the first six minutes of the game. The Falcons continued to get the ball inside as 14 of the team's first 18 points of the game were in the paint.
 
Willis knocked down Notre Dame's first three-pointer of the contest at the 13:41-mark of the first half. Nearly two minutes later, the senior hit another long-range shot, following an offensive rebound by sophomore Jevontae Jones. That second three gave NDC a 21-7 lead. Sophomore Obinna Ugwuakazi scored with 11:33 to go before halftime and the Falcons held their largest lead of the game at 16 points, 23-7.
 
Alderson Broaddus then forced turnovers on three consecutive NDC possessions, scoring off of each Notre Dame miscue. The Battlers grabbed momentum and an 18-8 run by AB cut the deficit to six points, 31-25, with 3:55 to go in the first half.
 
Notre Dame would regroup before halftime and with the help of a couple threes by Willis in the last four minutes, the Falcons took a nine-point lead, 41-32, into the locker room.
 
Willis had 19 points in the first 20 minutes, going 6-for-11 from the field and making five 3-pointers. Ugwuakazi had six points and six rebounds by halftime.
 
The Falcons missed their first two shots of the second stanza, and the Battlers took advantage. They had cut the NDC lead to five points, less than two minutes into the half. Alderson Broaddus continued to chip away and took its first lead of the contest with 14:56 remaining in the game, following a 16-5 run to begin the second half. Back-to-back threes by Coryon Rice and Jalen Knott put AB ahead, 48-46.
 
Willis and Ugwuakazi both made a shot to give the Falcons the lead, again. Between the 12:09-mark and the 8:26-mark of the second half, the game featured four lead changes and three ties.
 
Once the Battlers took the lead with just under 8:30 remaining, they never gave it back. A 5-0 run gave AB a 60-56 advantage and the closest the Falcons could get was two points.
 
In the second half, Willis scored nine points, but connected on only one three. He finished with 28 points and five rebounds. Ugwuakazi posted his third double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) in the last four games. Barker had 14 points and nine boards.
 
Notre Dame is the five seed in the Mountain East Conference Tournament and will play the four seed West Virginia State, on March 3, at 8:30 p.m. The tournament is played at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va.