BUCKHANNON, W.Va.– The West Virginia Wesleyan (1-9, 0-6) men’s basketball team fell at home in the Rockefeller Center on Saturday (Dec. 11) to the Notre Dame Falcons (7-2, 5-1) by a final score of 71-58.
 
Leaders for WVWC
Jayden Hibbitt had a team-high 19 points and brought down five rebounds. Anthony Craven contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Leaders for NDC
Daylin Lee led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds. Michael Sampson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tyland Crawford added 19 points and seven rebounds.
 
Inside the First Half
 
The Falcons jumped out to a 12-4 lead early in the half before Craven Jr. hit a floater in the lane to trim the Falcon lead to seven. With 13:14 to play in the opening half Craven Jr. hit a deep triple with the shot clock winding down to give him seven of the team’s first 13 points.
 
Hibbitt scored his seventh point of the half to trim the Falcon lead to five after a nice entry pass from Craven Jr. led to the easy bucket. Craven Jr. and Hibbitt combined for 14 of the team’s first 16 points. Kabe Ellis would convert a triple of his own at the 10:23 mark making the score 23-19.
 
The Falcons would go on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes before Jayden Hibbitt hit a tough floater in the lane to bring his total to 11. Hibbitt would finish the half with 13 points as the ‘Cats went into the locker room down by 12.
 
Inside the Second Half
Both teams exchanged baskets during the opening 10 minutes of the half. Shawn Moran shortened the Falcon lead to 10 when he deposited a triple to make the score 56-46.
 
Hibbitt cut the lead to single digits with 9:11 remaining in the final half when he splashed a jumper from the right-wing.
 
Up Next
WVWC has a quick turnaround as they head to Salem on Monday to take on the Tigers in a non-conference matchup starting at 6 p.m.