SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Senior guard Marcus Pilgrim (Mitchellville, Md./Bishop McNamara) scored 21 points and freshman guard Naim Muhammad (Waldorf, Md./North Point) added 17 to lead Shepherd University to a 90-81 win over Notre Dame College in MEC men's basketball action at the Butcher Center on Thursday night.
Pilgrim hit on 8-of-14 shots from the floor with a 1-of-6 outing from three-point range. He was 4-of-4 from the foul line. Pilgrim added four assists, three boards, and a pair of steals. Muhammad was 8-of-11 from the floor and connected on his only free throw. He also grabbed nine rebounds.
Junior forward Morgan McDonald (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman) had 16 points and a team-high 12 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the year.
Junior guard Austin Cunningham (Vincent, Ohio/Ohio Valley) contributed 15 points and a game-high five assists, while senior guard Brantley Osborne (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) added 10 points and three assists. Senior forward Kevin Jones (Washington, DC/IUP) just missed out on a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
Jarvis Huntley had 21 points and Tyree Gaiter added 20 for the Falcons. Lawrence DeArmond added 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Shepherd took a 36-29 lead into the break behind 11 first half points from Pilgrim.
The Rams led by as many as 19 points in the second half but the Falcons cut the lead to four points at 82-78 after a layup by Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson with 42 seconds left in regulation. Shepherd connected on 8-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Cunningham went 4-for-4, while Pilgrim and McDonald were 2-for-2.
Shepherd shot 48.6 percent (34-70) from the floor with a 22.2 percent (4-18) effort from three-point range. The Rams connected on 18-of-20 free throws (90 percent).
Notre Dame shot 41.4 percent (29-70) from the floor with a 11-of-38 effort (28.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Falcons hit on 12-of-17 free throws (70.6 percent).
Shepherd had a 45-35 advantage on the boards. The Rams forced 15 turnovers and committed 15.
Shepherd improves to 15-6, 10-5 in conference action, while Notre Dame falls to 9-12, 7-8. The Rams return to action on Saturday when they host Urbana for Alumni Day/Mid-Season Reception at 4 p.m.
