SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va.  –  Will Vorhees scored 38 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Notre Dame (11-4, 6-3 MEC) to an 87-78 win over Shepherd University (9-6, 5-4 MEC) in MEC men's basketball action at the Butcher Center on Thursday night.

Vorhees connected 16-of-26 field goals with a 1-of-5 effort from three-point range. He drained 5-of-8 free throws.

Freshman guard Jon Preston (Brandywine, Md./Rock Creek Christian) led the Rams with 17 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Thomas Lang (New Market, Md./Linganore) added 16 points and four assists, while senior guard Derek McKnight (Teaneck, NJ/Gaston (N.C.) Day School/Louisburg CC) tossed in 13 points.

Senior guard Devin Smith (Baltimore, Md./Randallstown/Richard Bland CC) also hit for double figures with 10 points. Senior forward Winston Burgess (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) added eight points and eight boards.

Larenz Thurman scored 23 points and handed out four assists for the Falcons. Isaiah Sanders added 11 points.

Notre Dame had a 45-34 lead at the break behind 22 first half points from Vorhees.

The Falcons led by as many as 22 points in the second half. Shepherd chipped away at the lead with a 23-8 run and got it down to seven points at 85-78 after a three-pointer by Lang with 1:37 remaining, but would get no closer.

Shepherd connected on 38.4 percent (28-73) from the floor with a 25 percent (8-32) performance from beyond the arc for the game. The Rams hit on 58.3 percent (11-24) of their free throws.

Notre Dame shot 53.2 percent (33-62) from the floor with a 41.7 percent effort (10-24) from three-point range. The Falcons shot 64.7 percent (11-17) from the charity stripe.

Shepherd had a 45-42 edge in rebounding. The Rams forced eight turnovers and committed eight.

The Rams return to action on Saturday when they host Urbana at 4 p.m.