INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Saturday's matchup between Notre Dame College and West Virginia State University had a little bit of everything mixed in. Both teams scored over 90 points, two players put up more than 30 points and one player had a double-double that included 15 rebounds. When the clock hit triple zeros, NDC came out on top in a 96-91 victory.
 
The first half was all about second chance opportunities for the Falcons. Although they only had two more offensive rebounds than West Virginia State (14-12) in the first 20 minutes, Notre Dame had 10 more second chance points than WVSU (22-12).
 
That was evident right away as the hustle shown by the Falcons allowed for two offensive boards on the first possession, and junior RJ Ogom put the ball through the hoop from close range to give NDC an early lead.
 
Anthony Pittman scored the first six points for W.Va. State. He would finish the game with 37 points, to go along with eight rebounds, shooting 15-for-29 from the field.
 
NDC continued to clean the offensive glass as Harris grabbed a board and sent the ball to sophomore Devin Haid for a mid-range jumper. On the next possession, Harris grabbed his own miss and put it back up and in to give NDC a 10-6 lead, with 15:40 on the clock.
 
Junior Joshua Dames provided an immediate spark off the bench, scoring on back-to-back possessions, hitting a three and then a layup. Sophomore Jevontae Jones, who also came off the bench, was open under the basket in transition, and junior Gbolahan Adio passed the ball down low for a layup. NDC pushed the lead to nine, 17-8.
 
The Yellow Jackets responded multiple times throughout the night, and they did around the middle of the first stanza. Over a three minute span, WVSU's 9-2 run closed the gap to two points, 19-17.
 
Notre Dame never gave the lead back to West Virginia State, using the three-ball to put some distance between the two teams. Haid hit a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions and, about two and-a-half minutes after that, Dames knocked down back-to-back triples to put NDC ahead by 11 points, 35-24.
 
Dames would finish the first half with 13 points in eight minutes, while Haid added 10 points.
 
The Falcons expanded its lead to as many as 15 and went into the halftime break with a 13-point lead (42-29).
 
NDC went to a zone on the defensive side that really made it difficult for the Yellow Jackets. WVSU made just 12 shots from the field in the first half and went 1-for-16 from long range. The Falcons also did a nice job of taking care of the ball, turning it over once in the first half.
 
West Virginia State came out of the locker room and scored the first basket of the second stanza, but then NDC went on a 7-0 run. As the Yellow Jackets missed three consecutive shots, Ogom made a layup, Haid knocked down a fastbreak jumper and then Harris went coast-to-coast for a layup, while taking contact. He made the free throw to make the score 49-31.
 
Harris had 16 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the game. The Brush High School product has now scored at least 15 points in five of the last six contests.

The Yellow Jackets began to slowly chip away at the Falcons' lead. Pittman led the charge, as he did everything he could to bring his team back. He put up 24 points in the second half. The NDC lead was cut to nine points, 55-46, at the 16:04-mark.

Dames put an end to a 10-3 WVSU run by sinking a three off of a pass by Harris.
 
The game continued to tighten as the home team would not go away. A 10-1 run between the 6:40-mark and the 4:15-mark of the second half made the score 73-71, in favor of the Falcons. West Virginia State's Mahzi Thames, who was at the free throw line with a potential three-point play, missed the shot.
 
Notre Dame needed some energy to close the game and got it from Haid and Harris. Haid went down the floor and drilled a three. Following a WVSU turnover, forced by the NDC defense, Harris knocked down a jumper.

Haid also made 11 out of 12 free throw attempts in the final three minutes of the game, on his way to 24 second half points. He totaled 12 made free throws on Saturday, the most in a game by an NDC player this season.
 
West Virginia State scored 62 second half points, but the Falcons were more efficient, shooting 56-percent from the field, while making 19 free throws.
 
Haid's 34 points are the most in a game by a Falcon since Jaedon Willis totaled 38 on Dec. 1, 2021. Haid shot 56-percent (9-for-16) from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers for the second time in the last three games. He added in eight rebounds, as well.
 
Dames finished with 16 points, which tied his season-high, and Ogom added 10 points.
 
West Virginia State entered the day third in the Mountain East Conference standings.
 
Notre Dame will come home to host Frostburg State University, on Feb. 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.