Box Score
ATHENS, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame Falcons scored a big road victory on Saturday afternoon, using sharp shooting to defeat Concord, 92-82.

The win for Notre Dame (1-3, 1-0) was their first this year, and was considered a bit of an upset because the Falcons were picked to finish 12th in the Mountain East's preseason poll, while Concord (2-2, 0-1) was pegged to finish fourth.

The opening half was controlled by the Falcons for the most part.  They made the first three baskets of the contest, and mounted a 9-2 lead about three minutes into the half before Concord came battling back. 

Concord eventually came within two (9-7) at the 15:29-mark, before the Falcons caught fire again, and went on a 12-6 run over the next three minutes to take a 22-13 advantage, their biggest of the opening half.  The run was capped by Lawrence DeArmond's and-one conversion. 

As they had earlier, Concord came back, and got themselves within striking distance on a nice little run of their own.  The Mountain Lions responded to NDC's aforementioned 12-6 run, with a 10-2 run of their own to draw within a point of NDC (24-23) at the 9:16-mark on Terry Hopewell's layup. 

The two sides remained close through the final stages of the first half, with neither side able to take a lead larger than three.  Notre Dame's defense put the clamps on Concord, holding them to just one field goal in the final two minutes, while the Falcons scored six during that stretch to take a 43-40 lead at halftime. 

The Falcons shot a blistering 52.8-percent (19-for-36) from the field in the opening half, which marks their first half of shooting this season.  They also outrebounded the Mountain Lions, 22-18, and five of their rebounds came on the offensive end.

The second half didn't go so well for the Falcons.  They were ice cold to begin the second stanza, scoring just two points over the first four and a half minutes of the second half.  Their scored their only two points during that stretch on Tyree Gaiter free throws, while they went 0-for-8 from the field, prompting Head Coach Tim Koenig to take a timeout.

Despite the shooting woes, the Falcons were able to stay well within striking distance, as Gaiter continued to heat up, hitting a layup and a 3-pointer after the timeout to bring the Falcons within two (52-50) with 14:39 remaining.

Concord mounted a 55-50 lead before the Falcons caught fire again, and went on a 9-0 run to regain the lead.  Free throws, which had been a problem to the Falcons up to that point, were a strength on that 9-0 run.  DeArmond drilled a pair of shots from the charity stripe to start the run, and it finished with Gaiter completed an old fashioned 3-point play, burying a free throw to give NDC a 59-55 lead with 11:23 to play.

Notre Dame did not trail the rest of the contest.  Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson buried a trio of huge 3-balls in the second half, but none bigger than the one he drilled off an assist from Jarvis Huntley with just over three minutes left to put the Falcons up by double figures (84-74), putting the game away.

Huntley paced the Falcons, scoring 19 of his team high, 31 points in the opening half, and he added five rebounds and five assists.  Three other Falcons scored in double figures as well.  Figueroa-Jackson went 4-for-7 (57.1-percent) from 3-point land and scored 14, while DeArmond added 15 points and six rebounds, and Gaiter scored 22 points to go along with a team high, eight assists. 

"We had a great team effort tonight against a very good team," said Koenig. "Assistant coaches were very prepared, and our guys executed. We took care of the ball against a tough, pressing defense, and we were able to rebound well against a big and athletic team." 

Notre Dame shot 50.7-percent (35-for-69) on the afternoon, had 16 assists to just eight turnovers, and shot 40.0-percent (8-for-20) from long distance.


The Falcons are in action again on Monday, Nov. 25, when they continue their road trip, for another conference contest against Virginia-Wise.  Tip off in Wise, Va., is set for 7:30 p.m.