SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Unbeaten and No. 3-ranked West Liberty stormed back from a 20-point first-half deficit to hand previously-undefeated Notre Dame (Ohio) a 106-103 overtime loss in a Mountain East Conference men's basketball thriller Saturday afternoon at Murphy Gymnasium.

Hilltopper freshman guard David Dennis hit two free throws to forge a 93-93 tie with 9 seconds left in regulation and then came up with a huge steal in the waning seconds of overtime as West Liberty (4-0, 1-0) weathered a near-perfect storm by the upset-minded Falcons (3-1, 0-1).

Notre Dame – which had taken NCAA Division I Bowling Green to overtime in a preseason exhibition earlier this month – came out smoking in Saturday's mutual MEC opener.

The Falcons soared to a quick double-digit lead by hitting eight of their first nine 3-point attempts.

A put-back basket by Kyauta Taylor gave Notre Dame an eye-popping 34-14 lead with 11:09 still showing on the first-half clock and left the Hilltoppers with a steep climb back up the comeback trail.

With head coach Jim Crutchfield preaching patience, West Liberty never panicked and the margin soon slipped back into single digits as the Falcons cooled off from the perimeter while the visitors began heating up.

The Black and Gold had the deficit down to 54-48 by intermission and continued to chip away when play resumed.

West Liberty took its first lead of the second half, 71-70, on a pair of Devin Hoehn free throws with12:47 left in regulation.

The Hilltoppers slowly but steadily padded the margin and appeared to have things well in hand when Brady Arnold knifed to the hoop for a 91-82 WLU lead with just 3:50 showing on the clock.

The Falcons still had something left in the tank, however, and mounted a stirring comeback of their own.

Taylor tied the game at 91-91 at the 1:05 mark and, following a West Liberty miss, Will Vorhees followed in a Taylor miss for a 93-91 Notre Dame lead with 28 seconds left in regulation.

Dennis made both free throws with 9 seconds left after being fouled on a drive to the basket and Taylor's off-balanc 3-pointer at the buzzer failed to drop, sending the game to overtime.

The teams traded leads in the extra period with the Falcons going ahead for the final time, 103-102, on a follow shot by Najeeb Johnson as the clock ticked under two minutes.

Dennis tied it for the final time, 103-103, with a free throw at the other end and the teams traded empty possessions as the game headed into the final minute.

With less than 30 seconds to go, Hilltopper All-American Seger Bonifant drew the defense to him and slipped a perfect pass across the lane to a wide-open Mike Lamberti for a 105-103 Hilltopper lead.

Notre Dame had run the clock under 15 seconds looking for a shot at the tying or winning basket when Dennis jumped into the passing lane to pick off Taylor's attempted pass from the baseline to the 3-point arc. Dennis got the ball to Bonifant who was fouled with 6 seconds left and made 1-of-2 free throws to conclude the scoring.

Bonifant led all scorers with 28 points while also chipping in with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Hoehn drained 4 3-pointers and added 24 points while Arnold and Lamberti finished with 17 and 13 points, respectively. 

Dennis suffered through a tough shooting game, making just 1-of-12 shots from the floor, but the scintillating freshman still just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and a game-high 6 steals – none bigger than the one in the final 10 seconds of regulation.

Taylor had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists to pace Notre Dame while Marco Colombo hit 5 3-pointers and finished with 21 points. Gaiter added 18 points and a game-high 13 assists while the 6-8 Vorhees also checked in with 18 points. Ja'Sean Lewis, a 6-8 freshman, was a force in the paint with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.

The Hilltoppers return to action on Monday night with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Urbana.