SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – After 17 lead changes and six ties, the contest between Notre Dame College and West Liberty University was finally decided, on Wednesday evening. In what seemed like a preview of a March tournament game, No. 14 ranked West Liberty snuck past the Falcons by a score of 88-87.
 
The Falcons shot 56-percent from 3-point range in the first half and it started right away. They had the long distance shots working early, putting together an 8-0 run, about four minutes into the game. Trailing 8-4, junior RJ Ogom knocked down a three, senior Trent Williams stole the ball from the Hilltoppers and passed it up to Gbolahan Adio for a layup and then Williams received a pass from Adio for a three pointer.
 
After West Liberty grabbed the lead back, the Falcons tied the score, in style. Adio lobbed a pass to sophomore Jevontae Jones for a dunk, with 13:42 to go in the first half. That dunk was the beginning of an 8-2 run by NDC, which included back-to-back threes by sophomore Devin Haid and Adio. The Falcons led, 20-16.
 
Adio started 10-for-10 from the field and 5-for-5 from behind the three point-line. He would finish the game shooting 10-for-12, including a 5-for-6 mark from long range. His 83.3-percent shooting percentage is tied for ninth in Notre Dame single-game history.
 
"He played under control," said head coach Mark Richmond. "That team can speed you up sometimes, but he was in control, had balance and it led to a really good shooting night."
 
After the Hilltoppers went on a run, they held the lead for much of the final nine minutes of the half. At one point, they stretched their lead to eight points, with about four minutes on the clock. But, Notre Dame fought back.
 
NDC put together an 11-2 run, as West Liberty went cold on the offensive end and the Falcons' defense forced three turnovers. Williams made four free throws and stole the ball to lead the Falcons' comeback. And to no one's surprise, Adio knocked down the three pointer that gave NDC a 41-40 lead with 42-seconds remaining in the opening half.
 
West Liberty led the game, 42-41, at halftime, but the Falcons were shooting 54-percent from the field, 56-percent from three and 83-percent from the free throw line. Ogom (12) and Adio (10) had combined for 22 points.
 
After a slow start to the second half by NDC, West Liberty expanded its lead to ten points, 58-48, with 15:50 on the clock.
 
Notre Dame used the energy from the home crowd to put together an incredible 26-11 run in just over seven minutes of game time. During that run, Adio had 11 points, which included three 3-pointers. Haid added seven points, two assists, two offensive rebounds and a steal.
 
Freshman Robbie Cass grabbed an offensive rebound and drove back to the hoop and sank the layup to give NDC a 74-69 lead, with 8:38 remaining. West Liberty took a timeout as the crowd erupted.
 
NDC did not stop there as Haid scored on back-to-back possessions and Adio did the same on the following two NDC possessions. With 5:50 remaining in the game, Notre Dame led 82-72.
 
Then, West Liberty went on its final run of the game. An immediate 11-0 run put WLU back in front 83-82, with 1:39 to go in the game.
 
In the final two minutes, there were five lead changes. Junior Andre Harris made a layup to give Notre Dame an 84-83 lead. After the Hilltoppers took the lead back, Harris split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 85.
 
NDC then grabbed a rebound, following a WLU missed shot. The Falcons took the ball to mid-court before West Liberty's Zach Rasile inexplicably fouled Williams, who calmly sank two free throws to give Notre Dame an 87-85 lead.
 
Rasile made up for the mistake on the last possession when he won the game with a 3-pointer.
 
"I thought we really competed and executed the game plan," Richmond said. "Just needed one more stop. We had opportunities and couldn't close it out."

Adio poured in 17 points in the second half, on 7-of-9 shooting. He finished with 27. Haid added 16 points and six rebounds in the final stanza, which included five offensive rebounds. He ended the game with 19 points and nine rebounds.
 
Notre Dame will wrap up the regular season with a home game against Salem University, on March 2, at 4 p.m.