Box Score
WISE, Va. -- The Notre Dame Falcons saw a seven point halftime lead disappear on Monday night, as they lost a conference road tilt to Virginia-Wise, 74-70.

The loss for Notre Dame (1-4, 1-1) was their first in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play, while the win for Virginia-Wise (4-0, 2-0) was their third in a row this season on their home hardwood.  

Notre Dame's defense did a great job of holding the Cavaliers down in the opening half, holding them to just a 23.7-percent (9-for-38) shooting clip in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

The Cavaliers held an edge for the first five minutes of the opening half, and found themselves ahead, 9-3 at the 15:09-mark, before Notre Dame came storming back.  Jarvis Huntley's 3-pointer triggered an 11-0 run for the Falcons over the next five minutes, as Notre Dame took a 14-9 lead, and never trailed the rest of the half.

Virginia-Wise came back to tie the game at 14-14, before Notre Dame ran off six straight points over the next 60 seconds of the contest.  The Falcons led by as many as nine (28-19) after a Lawrence DeArmond 3-ball with 3:37 left in the first half, and went into the locker room with a 33-26 advantage. 

In addition to limiting the Cavs' offense, Notre Dame was red hot from behind the arc, hitting 50.0-percent (6-for-12) of their 3-pointers, while registering four blocks in the process. 

Notre Dame was able to stay ahead of the Cavs for the first 14 minutes of the second half, and led by as many as 12 (48-36), but the Cavs wouldn't go away, and eventually took the lead, 60-59, with 5:48 to play after Matt Day hit a pair of free throws.

After the final media timeout, Notre Dame fell behind, 63-62, but DeArmond caught fire, burying a 3-ball, then grabbed a rebound off a Cavalier miss, and drilled a jumper on the other end to give the Falcons a 66-63 lead, prompting the Cavs to call for time.

The game changed after that timeout, as the Cavs hit their next three shots to take a 69-66 lead, and never trailed the rest of the way. Those three straight buckets were the beginning of an 11-0 run, giving the Cavs a 73-66 lead.  Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson hit a couple of jumpers over the next 30 seconds, pulling the Falcons within three (73-70), with 20 seconds left, but it wasn't enough.

Huntley led the way for Notre Dame offensively, with 23 points on the night, and DeArmond wasn't far behind with 21.  Two other Falcons scored in double figures, as Tyree Gaiter poured in 12, and Figueroa-Jackson turned in a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  Gaiter also led the Falcons in assists with seven.  

Notre Dame shot 40.7-percent (22-for-54) on the night, and shot 40.9-percent (9-for-22) from long distance. However, they were outrebounded, 51-39, and the Cavs had an 18-5 edge in offensive rebounds.


The Falcons are in action again on Monday, Dec. 2, for their home opener, as they welcome Ohio Midwestern to Murphy Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.