Falcons Bounced From MEC Quarterfinals Friday.

The Notre Dame Falcons (11-19) saw the 2013-14 basketball season come to a close with a 107-86 loss to the Hilltoppers of West Liberty at the Charleston Civic Center Friday evening. The win improved West Liberty to 25-2 on the season. The Falcons defeated the Hilltoppers back in January for one of those two losses.
  NDC was led by a trio of players in double figures. Lawrence DeArmond who was named a member of the MEC first team lead the Falcons with 32 points- Tyree Gaiter added 23 (21 in the opening half-) while Kaloma Figeuroa-Jackson netted 12. The Falcons shot 50 percent (30-60) from the field on the night. They shot 42 percent (10-24) from the 3-point line. NDC was a solid 89 percent (16-18) at the foul line. The Falcons had 13 assists and 15 turnovers in the game.
  The Hilltoppers had five players score in double figures in the win. Shawn Dyer (27 points) and Kelvin Goodwin (24) paced the West Liberty attack. C.J Hester scored 16- Devin Hoehn (14) and Cedric Harris netted 13.  West Liberty shot 60 percent (39-65) in the game. They shot at a 46 percent clip (13-28) from the foul line. The Hilltoppers shot 80 percent (16-20) at the foul line. West Liberty was +10 (34-24) in the rebounding battle. West Liberty had 24 assists and 11 turnovers.
  NDC briefly held the lead early (5-4) after a pair of DeArmond free throws at the 17:09 mark. The Hilltoppers would take control and lead 28-19 at the  9:14 mark of the opening half. The Falcons would trail by 14 (40-26) before going on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to eight (40-32.) The Hilltoppers would close the half on a run to take a 51-38 lead into the intermission.
  West Liberty would start out the second half on a 8-2 run and lead 59-40 with 18:07 left.  The Falcons got to within 11 (67-56) at the 14:29 mark after a DeArmond 3-pointer. The Hilltoppers would cruise to the victory from there. They will advance to the semifinals where they will battle Glenville State.
  Three NDC seniors (Geovante Rose, Pat Koening, and Jarvis Huntley played in what would be there final game for the Falcons. The senior group will be remember as the first to win a Mountain East Conference game and the first to beat a #1 ranked team (West Liberty back in January.)

Complete Effort Lifts Falcons Past Yellow Jackets.

The Notre Dame College Falcons (11-18 9-14 MEC) never trailed in a 97-78 win versus West Virginia State in the first round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament Tuesday night. With the loss the Yellow Jackets saw a five game win streak come to an end. They ended up 13-14 on the season.
  NDC had four players score in double figures in the win. Lawrence DeArmond poured in a game high 30 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists- Geovante Rose added a monster game with 17 points and 21 rebounds- Jarvis Huntley netted 18- while Tyree Gaiter scored 15. The Falcons shot 52 percent (34-66) from the field on the evening- they shot 39 percent (7-19) from the 3-point line. NDC shot at a 73 percent clip (22-30) at the foul line. NDC won the rebounding battle 49-38. They had 17 assists and 14 turnovers.
  The Yellow Jackets had four players score in double figures as well. Juan Johnson led the way with 21 points on the night- Steve Wing had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds- Bo King added 13- and- Anton Hutchins netted 10. The Yellow Jackets shot 37 percent (27-73) for the game. They shot just 24 percent (5-21) from the 3-point line. State shot 76 percent (19-25) at the foul line. They had just seven assists and turned it over 10 times.
  The Falcons controlled the game from the outset. They scored the game's first four points to set the tone. The Falcons had a four point lead (22-18) at the 8:33 mark of the opening half. Over the next four minutes plus the Falcons would stretch the lead to 11 (36-25) at the 3:40 mark on a Ryan Hickoff 3-pointer. Then each team would go on a 6-0 spurt. The Falcons would take a 10 point lead (42-32) into the locker room.
 The second half was controlled by NDC. The lead was 12 five minutes into the half. The next two and a half minutes would see the Falcons blow it open with a 15-3 run to stretch the lead to 24 (67-43.) The run was capped by a Gaiter 3-pointer.  The Falcons would cruise to the quarterfinals from there.
  NDC will take on top seeded West Liberty on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference Tournament. Tip time is set for 6 PM.

Gaiter, DeArmond Lift NDC Past Blue Knights.

Behind a monster day from both Tyree Gaiter and Lawrence DeArmond the Notre Dame College Falcons (10-18 8-14 MEC) snapped a seven game losing streak with a 85-76 win over the Urbana Blue Knights (0-26 0-22 MEC.)  Saturday.
  Gaiter scored a game high 37 points in 39 minutes of action. Gaiter was 11 of 19 from the field- five of eight from the 3-point line- and- 10 of 11 at the free throw line on the day. He added six rebounds and three assists.  DeArmond also had a big day pouring in a game high 28 points. He recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds and three assists. Ryan Hickoff rounded out the double digit scorers with 10.  The Falcons shot 44 percent (30-68) from the field in this one.  They shot 48 percent (11-23) from the 3-point line. This included going 11-15 (73 percent) in the second half.  The Falcons shot 70 percent (14-20) at the foul line. They had 17 assists and turned it over 10 times.
  The Blue Knights placed four  players in double figures. Dusan Komljenovic paced them with 25 points  on seven of 13 shooting from the field.  He was four of 9 from the 3-point line- and- seven of eight at the free throw line in 23 minutes.  Ognjen Rebic had a double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds- while Danny Goins and Mike Newton added 10 points each.
  The Blue Knights shot 34 percent from the field (25-73) and 33 percent (10-30) from the 3-point line. They shot at a 73 percent clip (16-22) at the foul line. Urbana won the rebounding battle 48-43. They had 15 assists and 13 turnovers.
  Both teams struggled offensively in the early going.  10 minutes in it would be the Blue Knights who had a seven point lead (18-11.)  The Falcons would come back in the next six and a half minutes and knot the game at 27 at the 3:30 minute mark on a DeArmond layup. The two teams would go back and forth for the rest of the half. DeArmond would make a layup right before the half to give the Falcons a one point lead (32-31) at the half.
  The Blue Knights came out hot in the second half and would go on a 10-2 run to take a eight  point lead (42-34.)  The Falcons would answer with a 9-0 run of their own to take a one point lead (43-42) after a pair of Gaiter 3-pointer's.  The game would be tied at 54 a couple minutes later before the Falcons would take control. NDC would go on a 16-4 run to take a 12 point lead (70-58) at the eight minute mark. The Falcons would cruise to victory from there.
 NDC is the ninth seed in the upcoming Mountain East Tournament and will battle West Virginia State on Tuesday at 7 PM. The Falcons were swept in a pair of close contests to WVSU. The Falcons fell 101-99 on January 11th and then 103-99 on February 20th.