CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons fell to the Cleveland State Vikings, 97-72, at the Wolstein Center on Wednesday evening. (Box)

The loss did not affect Notre Dame's (3-6) record, because it was an exhibition for the Falcons, while the victory for the Vikings (6-5) was their fifth in six games at home this season.

Notre Dame put up an incredible fight in the opening half, as they went toe-to-toe with the Vikings throughout the first 20 minutes of the contest. 

The first half saw the lead change hands several times, and Notre Dame took a 34-33 lead at the 3:14-mark after Tyree Gaiter's layup.  The Vikings closed out the opening half by scoring out of the final 11 points, to take a modest, 41-37 lead at the break.

Neither team led by any more than four in the first half, as both teams shot the ball very well.  Notre Dame hit on 54.6-percent (6-for-11) of their 3-pointers in the opening half, while Cleveland State shot 59.3-percent (16-for-27) from the floor.

In the second half, the Vikings scored six straight points to take a 10 point lead (47-37) less than two minutes into the half. Notre Dame eventually cut the deficit down to six (47-41), before the Vikings caught fire again.

Dean Kolstad hit a layup with 13:43 remaining to bring the Falcons within nine (58-49), but the Vikings turned it on, and scored the next nine points to take a 67-49 advantage, and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The Vikings shot the ball extremely well, hitting 64.0-percent (34-for-53) of their shots, which included an incredible 53.0-percent (9-for-17) mark from beyond the arc. A 35-21 rebounding advantage for the Vikings was also crucial to their success.

Gaiter was the only Falcon to score in double figures, scoring 24 on the night with five assists and a trio of steals. Lawrence DeArmond came away with nine points and a pair of steals, while Jarvis Huntley, Geovonte Rose and Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson each added eight.

The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Dec. 21, when they head to Findlay for a meeting with the Oilers.  The contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff.