SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Tommie Pope, Jayden Hibbitt and Braeden McGrew all eclipsed double-digit points as the West Virginia Wesleyan (2-19, 1-14) men’s basketball team fell at Notre Dame College (12-9, 9-6) on Wednesday (Feb. 2) night at Murphy Gymnasium in South Euclid, Ohio.
 
WVWC Leaders
Pope reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season, making nine shots on 11 attempts. Hibbitt produced 18 points and pulled down six boards. McGrew sank three shots from beyond the arc in a 15-point performance. McGrew distributed five assists. Pope and McGrew forced three steals each.
 
Notre Dame (Ohio) Leaders
John Godinez led all scorers with 22 points. Jaedon Willis (18) and Daylin Lee (10) joined Godinez in double-figures. DeAirius Baker grabbed eight rebounds to lead NDC. Gbolahan Adio came off the bench and passed four assists. 
 
Inside the First Half
The Bobcats hit six of their first nine shots to begin the game. Hibbitt started things off with a deep three within the first minute of action. McGrew followed up with his first three of the night to put WVWC ahead 6-3. The senior from Winfield, W.Va., scored off of a Falcon turnover to give him five quick points in the first half. Anthony Craven, Jr. hit the ‘Cats third triple within the first four minutes of action. A Hibbitt layup put Wesleyan ahead 13-7 at the 15:31 mark.
 
WVWC’s largest lead of the night came when McGrew nailed a jump shot to put the ‘Cats ahead by eight points. The Falcons chipped away and cut the Wesleyan lead to one point midway through the first half. Both teams were held scoreless for over three and a half minutes. Willis broke the scoring drought and gave NDC their first lead of the night on a trifecta with 6:28 to go. McGrew answered and ended WVWC’s six-minute scoring drought with his second three to pull WVWC ahead by one. The Falcons closed out the first half on a 14-2 run and took a 40-29 lead into the locker room.
 
Inside the Second Half
The Falcons lead increased to 18 points after the home team scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half. A Willis three put NDC up by 19 in the opening minutes of half number two. A Pope fast break layup trimmed the deficit to 15 points with 15:20 to go in the half. NDC went on a 5-0 scoring run that grew their lead to 22 points midway through the half. The Bobcats were able to close the gap to 16 points twice down the stretch. NDC cruised to a 87-71 victory.
 
Up Next
The Bobcats return to Buckhannon for a weekend matchup versus the Battlers of Alderson Broaddus at 4 p.m. on Saturday.