SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The rematch of last season's Mountain East Conference Tournament Quarterfinal game certainly featured the intensity that mimicked a postseason matchup. On Wednesday, Notre Dame College pulled out to a five-point lead to begin the second half, but West Virginia State University finished strong in the final five minutes for a 73-66 Yellow Jackets win.
 
The first half was a much slower pace than the second, as the two teams combined to score just 56 points. W.Va. State grabbed the lead to start the game and, despite the contest being tied five times in the opening 20 minutes, NDC never held the advantage before halftime.
 
With 10:06 remaining on the first half clock, Antonio Carter sent the ball out to Kahari Rogers for three to give WVSU its largest lead of the half, which was eight, 19-11. They would push it to eight, again, 22-14, with 8:12 on the clock.
 
NDC responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 22, with sophomore Devin Haid knocking down a jumper, followed by layups from junior Andre Harris and junior Gbolahan Adio.
 
Senior Trent Williams sent an important three through the net, with just five seconds left, to snap a 5-0 West Virginia State run and give NDC some momentum going into the second half. At halftime, NDC trailed by a score of 29-27.
 
The scoring for the Falcons was balanced as Haid and Harris led the team with six points, each, but no one else scored more than three in the opening stanza.
 
On the inbound pass to start the second half, Adio jumped at the ball and stole it away, leading to an easy dunk on the other end to tie the game at 29.
 
Adio had three steals in the first half and set a career-high with his fourth takeaway.
 
The ball went back-and-forth before, finally, the Falcons came away with another steal by Haid. The ball found its way to Harris, who hit the shot and was fouled. He made the free throw and Notre Dame held its first lead of the game, 32-29, with 18:33 to go in the second half.
 
"I thought we were pretty aggressive in the half court," head coach Mark Richmond said. "When we made them take it out after we scored, and we were able to get back and get our defense set, we did a good job. We were aggressive and able to force some turnovers and get some baskets in transition."
 
A three-point play for WVSU knotted the game right back up at 32, but the Haid-to-Harris connection worked again, as Harris dunked the ball on a second chance opportunity. Another offensive rebound on the next possession led to another second chance opportunity as senior Davin Zeigler passed to Haid for a three. Less than a minute later, with 17:10 to go, Harris muscled his way to the hoop to put NDC ahead by five points, 39-34. That would be Notre Dame's largest lead of the contest.
 
The Falcons totaled 16 second chance points in the final 20 minutes and had 22 in the game. They also totaled 17 offensive rebounds throughout the contest, which is the third highest number this season.
 
Just like the first half, the second half featured eight ties, to go along with six lead changes. NDC held the lead for much of the second half, until a three-point play gave the Yellow Jackets a 53-52 advantage, with 7:11 remaining.
 
Junior Joshua Dames came off the bench and gave NDC a late spark. Once WVSU tied the game at 50, Dames made a difficult driving layup, with contact. He also knocked down two free throws to give NDC a 54-53 lead.
 
Haid hit a 3-pointer, with 6:24 on the clock, and Notre Dame regained the lead, again, at 57-55. But, over the next four minutes, W.Va. State went on an 11-5 run and led, 66-62. They maintained some distance on the scoreboard down the stretch for the win.
 
Haid had 13 points and eight rebounds in the second half. He finished the game with 19 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Harris finished with 13 points and a season-high five assists.
 
The Falcons will be on the road for five of their next six games, beginning with a trip to Charleston, on Jan. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.