NDC’s Vorhees sets new record

On paper, the match-up between Notre Dame College and Fairmont (W.V.) State University on Feb. 9 at Murphy Gymnasium had the makings of a barn burner.

What transpired on the hardwood in South Euclid met and exceeded those expectations.

NDC prevailed, 90-84, in a game that spoke to the quality of the two teams as well as the strength of the Mountain East Conference and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region.

The Falcons improved to 16-6 overall and 12-4 in the MEC. They drew to within one game of second-place Fairmont, now 16-6 overall and 13-3 in the MEC.

Both teams are chasing West Liberty (W.V.) University (19-2, 15-1 MEC), ranked No. 5 in the newest NCAA Division II coaches poll.

Senior forward Will Vorhees paced NDC with 34 points and nine rebounds. That point production by the first-team All-America candidate made him the leading scorer in program history with 2,425 points.

He passed Tyree Gaiter, the high-scoring point guard from Cleveland Heights who tallied 2,421 points from 2012 to 2016.

“It was awesome to get the record in front of our fans and against this team,” Vorhees said.

NDC had never beaten Fairmont in 11 previous regular-season meetings since joining the MEC six years ago.

As good as Vorhees was, he was not the high scorer in a showdown between teams possessed of potent offenses.

Fairmont senior guard Vonte Montgomery poured in 41 points. The former Garfield Heights High School standout made 13 of 19 fielders overall, was 4-of-6 from 3-point rage, drained 11 of 14 free throw attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a team-high six assists.

“It’s always good to come back home and play in Cleveland,” Montgomery said. “We knew this would be a tough game. Both teams were desperate to win.”

Montgomery directed praise toward Vorhees (“One helluva player.”) and NDC coach Tim Koenig (“Coach TK had a great plan for this game.”).

This was not a two-man show, however.

The Falcons also got standout performances from junior point guard Larenz Thurman (18 points, game-high eights assists) and junior guard Bruce Hodges (13 points, eight rebounds).

Adding 10 points apiece were freshman guard Isaiah Sanders and freshman forward Hamish Warden.

Sanders, one of NDC’s defensive stoppers, made two free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining to thwart Fairmont’s lastditch run and give the Falcons an 88-84 lead.

“The atmosphere in our gym today was crazy,” Sanders said. “It’s fun to play in games like this.”

Fairmont junior forward Andrew Emrick finished with 14 points. Sophomore forward Kenzie Melko-Marshall added 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Montgomery was hot out of the gate and helped Fairmont build a 32-29 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half. NDC closed with a 20-7 run to take a 49-39 lead at halftime.

The Falcons pushed the lead to 12 points early in the second half before Fairmont mounted a comeback that made the closing minutes a tense battle.

“They out-toughed us a little bit down the stretch in that first half,” Fairmont coach Joe Mazzulla said.

NDC ran its home-court winning streak to nine games. The Falcons next play at Glenville (W.V.) State on Feb. 14. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.