Men's Basketball | 11/23/2021 9:56:00 PM

Box Score     SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – An early-season meeting of the unbeaten more than lived up to its billing here Tuesday night as Notre Dame (Ohio) pulled off an 82-81 upset of No. 7-ranked West Liberty in Mountain East Conference action at Murphy Gym.
    In a game featuring 11 ties and 7 lead changes, it all came down to the final 17 seconds for Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (4-1, 1-1) and the host Falcons (4-0, 2-0).
    A Pat Robinson layup pulled West Liberty within a point, 80-79, at the 17-second mark and Notre Dame's DeAirius Barker was fouled on the in-bounds, stopping the clock with 15 seconds to go.
    Barker calmly knocked down both free throws but Robinson sailed coast-to-coast for another layup to and Howlett burned his last timeout, stopping the clock with 9 seconds left.
    Once again trailing by just a single point, 82-81, the Hilltoppers forced a turnover on the in-bounds pass and got the ball back with 7 seconds left.
    Robinson drove into the lane, drawing a double-team from the NDC defenders, and kicked the ball out to a wide-open Christian Montague. Montague's game-winning 3-point try was on line but caught just enough iron to bounce harmlessly away as the buzzer sounded.
    West Liberty shot 32-of-72 (44 percent) from the floor and 8-of-23 (35 percent) from behind the 3-point arc but missed 9 of its 11 3-point tries in the second half. The Hilltoppers also struggled from the charity stripe, hitting just 9-of-19 (47 percent) of their free throws.
    Notre Dame shot 50 percent (31-of-62) from the floor, 50 percent (10-of-20) from the 3-point arc and 71 percent (10-of-14) from the foul line. The Falcons also posted a 45-32 edge off the glass.
    Robinson led four double-figure scorers for West Liberty with 21 points. Bryce Butler added 17 while Montague and Malik McKinney chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
    Tyland Crawford topped Notre Dame with 21 points and Jaedon Willis added 14. Michael Sampson posted a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards.
    The Hilltoppers return home on Monday to host East Region power Daemen (N.Y.). Tipoff at the ASRC is set for 5:30 p.m.