Falcons Close Out Pioneers At "The Murph".

The Notre Dame Falcons used a 12-0 run in the game's final 3:53 to stay perfect at home with a 77-65 win over Malone at Murphy Gymnasium Friday night.  The win improved NDC to 5-0 at home on the season, while the loss dropped the Pioneers to 0-5 on the road this season.
  NDC (7-3 3-1 MEC) was paced by Lawrence DeArmond with 27 points.  This included the first 10 points of the second half.  He had 17 in the second stanza.  Tyree Gaiter notched 22 for the Falcons, while Will Vorhees posted 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  NDC shot the ball extremely well all game long. They shot 51 percent (25-49) from the field- 50 percent (8-16) from the 3-point line- and 79 percent (19-24) at the free throw line.  The Falcons had 12 assists and 11 turnovers in the game.
  Malone (3-7) had four players score in double figures in the game.  Brian Stone led the way with 13 points- Ben Haraway scored 12- Christian Graves had 11- and- Jalen Miller just missed a double-double (10 points and nine rebounds.)  The Pioneers shot 40 percent (25-63) on the day- they shot at a  35 percent clip (10-29) from the 3-point line- and shot 63 percent (5-8) at the free throw line.  Malone had a slight 31-29 edge on the glass.  They had 13 assists and turned the ball over 14 times.
  The first half saw both teams shoot the ball very well.  The lead changed hands six times.  NDC would finally get a little separation from the Pioneers with a 9-2 run that would give them a nine point lead (31-22) after a Kyauta Taylor basket at the 8:22 mark.  The Pioneers would quickly respond with a 9-0 run to knot the game at 31 after a Haraway 3-pointer at the 5:05 mark.  NDC would regain control and take a 38-35 halftime lead.
   The second half turned into a see saw affair.  NDC would take a six point lead (53-47) after a Taylor jumper at the 11:37 mark.  The Pioneers would run off the next seven points to regain the lead (54-53) at the 9:53 mark.  The Pioneers would extend the lead to five (60-55) with 7:47 to go after a Jalen Miller lay up.  The Falcons would fight back and tie the game two minutes later.  Christian Graves would nail a 3-pointer for the Pioneers to tie the game again at 65 at the 3:53 mark.  Those would be the final points Malone would score as the Falcons would secure this win on the defensive end.  Tyree Gaiter would nail a 3-pointer to give the Falcons the lead for good and they would never look back.
 NDC will take a holiday break and will be back in action January 3rd when they travel to West Virginia to take on Shepherd. Tip time is set for 4 PM.

 

Lakers Easily Get By Falcons.

The Notre Dame Falcons came into Friday night's contest with Mercyhurst  with a high octane offense. For the second straight game the Falcons had trouble finding the basket in a 68-52 loss in Erie, Pa.
  Mercyhurst (6-3) won for the fourth consecutive game Friday. They were led by three players in double figures.  James Ewing led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds to go along with three blocked shots in 27 minutes of action.  The Lakers also got a pair of 12 point games from Andy Hoying and Gerrae Williams.  The Lakers shot 50 percent (18-56) from the field and 25 percent (4-16) from the 3-point line. They also shot 50 percent (8-16) at the free throw line. The Lakers also had 12 assists and 15 turnovers.
 NDC (6-3 3-1 MEC) dropped a third straight contest away from Murphy Gym.  They were led by Will Vorhees who notched a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds.)  Lawrence DeArmond added 12- while Tyree Gaiter netted 11. All three struggled from the floor on this night. They combined to go 9 -of- 35 between them.  Gaiter was held to just 2- of- 16 from the floor while DeArmond was 4-of-10 and Vorhees went 3- of- 9.  NDC shot 24 percent (13-54) from the floor on the game. They were even worse from the 3 point line where they shot 11 percent (2-of- 19.)  NDC stayed in the game for as long as they did because of a decisive edge at the free throw line. They shot 71 percent (24-34) at the free throw line.  The Falcons had a slight edge in the rebounding battle 42-38.  The Falcons had seven assists and 18 turnovers.
  The first five minutes saw both teams struggling to find the basket. The Lakers would lead 8-5 in the early going.  The next five minutes was much more of the same and it would be a five point Laker lead (15-10) at the halfway mark of the opening half.
  The next 5:20 segment saw Mercyhurst go on a 12-2 run to open up a 15 point lead (27-12) with 4:40 to go until halftime. The Lakers would extend the lead to 16 (29-13) before the Falcons would close the half on a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to 11 (31-20) at the intermission,
 The first 7:45 of the second half saw both teams play even basketball.  After a Lakers basket they would go ahead 46-33 with 12:15 to go. NDC would then score six of eight points at the free throw line during a 8-2 run that would trim the Lakers lead to seven (48-41.)  DeArmond, Najeeb Johnson and Vorhees would each nail a pair of free throws during the run. NDC would get it to single digits for a final time as Gaiter would split a pair of free throws at the 6:52 mark.  The Lakers would then run off the next 11 points to put the game away.
 NDC will be back to Murphy Gym on Friday, December 19th at 5:30 PM when they will battle the Pioneers of Malone. It will be the final non conference game of the season for NDC.

Falcons Stay Perfect At Home.

The Notre Dame Falcons stayed unblemished in four games at home with a 79-64 win over Wheeling Jesuit  on Saturday at Murphy Gym.  With the loss Wheeling Jesuit has lost it's last two road games.
  NDC (6-2 3-1 MEC) bounced back after falling 120-85 to top ranked West Liberty on Thursday with a solid effort against the Cardinals.  The dynamic duo of Lawrence DeArmond and Tyree Gaiter combined for 60 of the 79 Falcon points.  DeArmond had a double-double (31 points and 11 rebounds) while Gaiter poured in 29 of his own.  The Falcons shot 43 percent from the field and shot 43 percent (9-21) from the 3-point line.  The Falcons shot 86 percent from the foul line (18-21.)  The Falcons had 13 assists and 16 turnovers.
 The Cardinals (4-2 1-2 MEC) were led by a 21 point performance from Eric Siefert- Justin Fritts added 15 in the loss.  The Cardinals  shot 40 percent from the field on the day.  They struggled both from the 3-point line, where they shot 25 percent (6-24) and from the foul line where they shot 57 percent (8-14.)  The Cardinals had 11 assists and 20 turnovers. Rebounds were even at 39 for both sides.
 The Falcons got off to a quick start and never trailed in the opening half.  It was 9-2 for NDC after the first five minutes of play.  The Falcons led by as many as nine in the opening half.  The Falcons would hold a slight 34-30 edge after the opening half.
  NDC would start the second half off hot. They would get five straight points from DeArmond and a 3-pointer by Kyauta Taylor to extend the lead to 10 (42-32) at the 18:09 mark.  The Falcons would see the Cardinals fight back and knot the game at 50 after a Kyle Fritz jumper at the 11:21 mark.  The Falcons would hold the Cardinals scoreless for the next four and a half minutes to spark a 8-0 run.  The Falcons would never look back. They would get a pair of dunks on breakaways from DeArmond and Gaiter would seal the win at the free throw line.
 NDC will be back in action Friday when they head to Pennsylvania to take on MercyHurst. Tip time is set for 6 PM.

West Liberty Takes Care of NDC.

The top ranked Hilltoppers of West Liberty were a 120-85 winner over the Falcons of Notre Dame College in West Virginia on Thursday night.  With the win West Liberty improved to 6-0 (3-0 MEC) while the Falcons fell to 5-2 (2-1 MEC.)
  The Hilltoppers were led by Seger Bonifant (24 points) along with a 21 point night from C.J. Hester.  Hester posted a double-double by adding 12 rebounds.  Devin Hoehn (18 points)- Zac Grossenbacher (14)- Indiana Faithfull netted 13- and Mike Lamberti rounded out the double digit scorers with 12.  West Liberty shot 49 percent from the field (43-87.)  They were also hot from the 3-point line where they shot 49 percent (17-35.)  West Liberty shot 68 percent (17-25) at the free throw line.  They owned the glass, out rebounding the Falcons 57-37.  They had 28 assists and just eight turnovers.
  NDC had four players score in double figures.  Lawrence DeArmond led the way with 25 points.  Tyree Gaiter added 19 to go along with five assists.  Kyauta Taylor netted 13- while Oliver Megins scored 11.  NDC shot 47 percent from the field (31-66.)  They could not find the range from the 3-point line where they went 5-21 (24 percent.)  The Falcons also shot just 51 percent (18-35) at the foul line.  They had 10 assists and 10 turnovers.
   It was NDC who got off to a pretty good quick start over the first five minutes. Taylor drilled a 3-pointer and NDC led 14-13 with 15:11 to go in the opening half.  It would not take West Liberty long to get going this as they would go on a 14-0 run to take a 13 point lead with eight minutes to go in the opening stanza.  The Hilltoppers would maintain a double digit lead mostly due to some solid shooting from anywhere on the floor.  DeArmond would hit a jumper to kick start a 9-1 run for NDC after they trailed by 19.  It would be 52-41 West Liberty at the 2:41 mark.  They would stretch that lead to 15 (58-43) at the half.
   The Hilltoppers did not cool off in the second half.  They shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 55 percent from the 3-point line after halftime and proved how they became the number one team in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll.  
 NDC will be back in action Saturday when they head back to Murphy Gym to take on Wheeling Jesuit. Tip time is set for 4 PM.

Home Sweet Home. Falcons Win Third Straight.

The Notre Dame Falcons were at home on Monday night taking on the Rams of Ohio Midwestern.  NDC improved to a perfect 3-0 at Murphy Gym with a 116-83 pasting of the Rams.
  NDC (5-1) was led by Lawrence DeArmond who scored a game high 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds in 27 minutes played.  Tyree Gaiter added 25 in 26 minutes of action- Najeeb Johnson netted 17- and Kyauta Taylor got into the act with 16.  NDC shot 51 percent (42-83) from the floor to go along with a blistering 48 percent (11-23) from the 3-point line.  NDC shot 81 percent (21-26) from the foul line.  They had 17 assists and nine turnovers.
 Ohio Midwestern had six players tally double figures on the evening.  Patrick White and Codey Jackson paced the Rams with 14 points each- Brennan Gross added 13- Ahmad Dauda and TreVonte Morris scored 12 apiece- DeVoe Armstrong chipped in 11.  The Rams shot 44 percent (30-68 from the field.)  They shot at a 36 percent clip (8-22) from the 3-point line.  The Rams struggled at the foul line where they shot 65 percent (15-23.)  They had 14 assists and turned the ball over 22 times.
  The game got off to a 7-7 start in the early going. NDC's Tyree Gaiter got off to a sizzling start scoring 13 of the first 15 Falcons points.  After being a fairly evenly played game thru the first eight minutes or so the Falcons used a 27-29 run to take a 34-16 lead with 8:20 in the opening half. NDC would increase that lead to 27 (58-31) at the half.
  The second half was a chance for the NDC coaching staff to get some minutes to some guys who have not played much thus far this season.  NDC won the rebounding battle 47-38.
 NDC will head to West Virginia where they will take on the top ranked team in Division II when they face West Liberty. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM.