Box Score COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons lost their first game of the season on Wednesday evening, as they fell on the road to Ohio Dominican, 89-69.
The loss for the Falcons (2-1) was their first on the road since Feb. 22 of last season, while the victory for the Panthers (1-2) snapped a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Notre Dame had problems filling it up all night long, as they shot just 34.7-percent (25-for-72) on the night, while the Panthers had no problems making their shots, as they shot 53.3-percent (32-for-60) from the floor, including a 61.3-percent (19-for-31) clip in the second half, where they really took over.
In the first half, while the Panthers never trailed, they were never really able to pull away, because any time they took the lead, the Falcons would come storming back. The lead never changed hands, but the Falcons tied the contest in six separate occasions in the opening half.
The Panthers led by as many as nine (28-19) with 5:42 remaining, before the Falcons came storming back, and went on a 14-5 run over the next two and a half minutes, and they tied the game at 35-35 after
Tyree Gaiter buried a pair of free throws.
Gaiter hit two more free throws over the final two minutes of the opening half, but those were the only other points the Falcons scored, as they trailed at halftime, 39-35.
The second half was a different story. While
Will Vorhees hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the half to bring NDC within one (39-38), the Falcons struggled to make their shots, as they shot just 30.0-percent (3-for-10) in the opening five minutes of the half. During that stretch, Ohio Dominican's lead grew to 10 (53-43).
Notre Dame was down, 61-47, with 11:32 to play when they caught fire again, going on a 12-4 run which was triggered by Gaiter's 3-pointer, and capped by
Lawrence DeArmond's layup, but that was as close as the Falcons would get the rest of the way.
After the aforementioned NDC run which dropped the deficit to six (65-59), the Panthers scored the next nine points over the following minute and a half to take a 74-59 advantage, and they lead by double digits the rest of the way to close out the victory.
Gaiter led the Falcons, with 30 points on the evening and added three steals to go along with a trio of assists as well. 10 of Gaiter's 30 points came from the free throw line. DeArmond added 18 points on the night and added seven rebounds, while
Najeeb Johnson contributed with 11 points. Vorhees was NDC's leading rebounder with 12.
The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Nov. 22, when they play both their home opener, and Mountain East Conference opener. They'll play host to Concord at Murphy Gymnasium, and tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
