SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio  –   Will Vorhees scored 31 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead Notre Dame College (15-6, 11-4 MEC) to a 78-53 win over Shepherd University (10-11, 6-9 MEC) in MEC men's basketball action at Notre Dame on Thursday night.

Vorhees hit on 12-of-28 field goals with a 2-of-7 effort from three-point range. He sank 5-of-6 free throws.

Freshman guard Jon Preston (Brandywine, Md./Rock Creek Christian) scored a career-high 23 points to pace the Rams. Preston tied senior forward Winston Burgess (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) with a team-high five rebounds and added a team-high three assists.

Senior guard Devin Smith Baltimore, Md./Randallstown/Richard Bland CC) added 11 points.

Larenz Thurman tossed in 13 points, while Drew Scarberry and Bruce Hodges each had nine points for the Falcons.

Notre Dame took a 35-25 lead into the break as Vorhees had 10 points and 13 boards.

The Falcons shot 57 percent (16-28) from the floor and 46 percent (6-13)  from three-point range in the second half to pull away for the victory.

Shepherd connected on 31.7 percent (19-60) from the floor with a 24.1 percent (7-29) performance from beyond the arc for the game. The Rams hit on 57.1 percent (8-14) of their free throws.

Notre Dame shot 46.2 percent (30-65) from the floor with a 39.3 percent effort (11-28) from three-point range. The Falcons shot 70 percent (7-10) from the charity stripe.

Notre Dame had a 46-36 advantage on the boards. The Rams forced eight turnovers and committed 10.

The Rams return to action on Saturday when they travel to Urbana for a 4 p.m. contest.