Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – In the highest scoring game in the history of Murphy Gymnasium, the Notre Dame Falcons scored over 100 points for the second game in a row, but fell to No. 1 West Liberty, 125-103 on Thursday night.
The Falcons (2-5, 1-2 MEC) have lost two out of their last three, but have scored 217 points in their last two games, while the win for the Hilltoppers (6-0, 3-0) was their sixth in a row, as they remain the only unbeaten team in the Mountain East.
An energetic crowd filled Murphy Gymnasium, and the NDC offense was able to capitalize on that energy early on. Notre Dame was on fire through the first 10 minutes of the contest, as they found ways to navigate their way through West Liberty's full court press.
The Falcons were down, 14-10, with 16:28-remaining in the first half, when they hit their stride and gave the top ranked Hilltoppers a scare, by going on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes of the contest.
Jarvis Huntley's layup at the 14:03-mark finished the run to give NDC a 23-14 advantage.
Through the next few minutes, the Falcons did not let down, and they mounted a pair of 11-point advantages, before the No. 1 Hilltoppers began to flex their muscle.
Notre Dame held a 31-20 advantage with 11:40 left in the opening half, when West Liberty marched back into the contest by going on a 15-3 run over the next four minutes to take a 35-34 lead with 7:35 to play in the opening stanza.
Tyree Gaiter, who scored 15 points in the opening half, completed an and-one situation with 6:25 remaining to give Notre Dame a 40-38 lead, but as it turned out, that would be NDC's final lead of the contest. West Liberty scored 13 of the game's next 15 points to take the lead, and didn't look back.
West Liberty started slowly in the opening half, but caught fire and shot 51.1-percent (24-47) from the floor, while the Falcons also shot extremely well in the opening stanza, hitting on 52.6-percent (20) of their 38 shots.
The Hilltoppers went into the locker room with a 67-53 lead at the half, and didn't give NDC much of an opportunity to get back within striking distance in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
However, Notre Dame would not go away quietly. While the Hilltoppers maintained a double digit lead for most of the half, Notre Dame was able to trim the deficit to 10 (96-86) with 9:26 to go after
Lawrence DeArmond's layup, but the Hilltoppers pulled away down the stretch.
Four Falcons scored in double digits, and three players scored 20-plus for NDC.
Jarvis Huntley turned in a double-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and added six assists to go along with three steals. Gaiter led the Falcons with 29 points on the night and added five assists.
DeArmond scored 26, on an 11-for-19 (57.8-percent) shooting performance from the field.
Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson finished the game with 17 points, three assists, and a team high, five blocks.
The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Dec. 7, when they host Wheeling Jesuit at Murphy Gymnasium for another MEC contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Head Coach Tim Koenig Post Game Interview
