SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Vonte Montgomery's 41-point scoring performance on Saturday afternoon wasn't enough as Fairmont State dropped a 90-84 final at Notre Dame College in a crucial Mountain East Conference matchup at the Murphy Gymnasium.
Montgomery, who recorded a new career-high, finished the game by going 13-of-19 from the field, 4-of-6 from three, and 11-of-14 from the free throw line. The senior also pulled down eight rebounds and passed out six assists.
The win allowed NDC to pull within a single-game of Fairmont State in the current Mountain East Conference standings at 16-6 overall and 12-4 in league play. Fairmont State is now 16-6 overall and 13-3 in MEC play.
Notre Dame led by as many as 12 early in the second half, and never trailed in the final 20 minutes of play despite Fairmont State cutting the margin to just two points on four occasions during the final 3:09 of the game.
Montgomery cut the Notre Dame lead to 86-84 with 13 seconds remaining before NDC went 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds to earn the win.
The win is the first for Notre Dame over Fairmont State in the regular season. Notre Dame's only other win in the series was a 79-78 win in the MEC tournament quarterfinals back on March 4, 2016.
In addition to Montgomery's performance,
Andrew Emrick chipped in 14 points and four rebounds, and
Kenzie Melko-Marshall recorded his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.
Jason Jolly also chipped in 11 points and five assists, despite going just 3-of-20 from the field.
Will Vorhees paced NDC with 34 points and nine rebounds, as the senior became the all-time leading scorer in Notre Dame College history with 2,425 points. Larenz Thurman also chipped in 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. NDC had five players finish in double figures.
Notre Dame held a 45-38 rebounding advantage, and scored 54 of its points in the paint during the victory. NDC also tallied 20 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.
Notre Dame shot 47.9 percent from the field, compared to 42.6 percent for Fairmont State.
The Falcons will return to action on Thursday evening at Joe Retton Arena against UVa-Wise. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
