Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons used an incredible second half surge on Saturday afternoon to score an 86-76 victory over Concord in their home opener at Murphy Gymnasium.
The victory for the Falcons (3-1, 1-0 MEC) marks the second year in a row that they've won their conference opener, and the sixth year in a row that they won their home opener, while the loss for the Mountain Lions (2-1, 0-1 MEC) snapped a brief two game winning streak.
Notre Dame was able to withstand a hot first half shooting performance from the Mountain Lions, who hit on 66.7-percent (18-of-27) of their shots over the first 20 minutes of the contest. The Falcons also shot the lights out from the charity stripe, where they made good on 15-of-17 (88.2-percent) attempts.
In the opening half, the two sides constantly traded blows, as the lead changed hands five times, but neither side was able to take a lead any larger than six. While the Mountain Lions shot very well in the opening half, the Falcons were able to remain close, because of their ability to crash the offensive glass, grabbing six offensive rebounds, which produced 10 second chance points.
Tyree Gaiter had a huge day for the Falcons, and he scored 18 of his game high, 30 points, in the opening half, getting eight of those points from the free throw line. Notre Dame was behind, 45-42 at the half, before they caught fire over the final 20 minutes.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were very tightly contested, as neither team was able to develop a lead larger than three, until
Oliver Megins got hot to help the Falcons steal some momentum. The Mountain Lions took a 60-59 lead with 9:40 to play, before the Falcons went on an 8-0 run, getting three baskets from Megins during that stretch to give NDC a 67-60 lead with 8:03 remaining, and Notre Dame never trailed again.
Through the rest of the half, the Falcons led by as many as 11 (77-66) after
Will Vorhees hit a 3-pointer with 3:44 to play, but Concord came storming back over the next two minutes, and they were able to trim the deficit down to three (77-74) with 1:19 left, but the Falcons quickly turned things around, taking an 80-74 lead on a 3-ball from
Kyauta Taylor, and Gaiter nailed a few clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.
Gaiter's 30 points paced the Falcons, marking the second game in a row that he's gone for 30, and he scored 14 of those from the charity stripe, adding five assists and four steals. Taylor added 16 points to go along with three steals, while
Lawrence DeArmond scored 15 points and added four assists, and Vorhees contributed with 10 points.
The Falcons will return to action on Monday, Nov. 24, when they play host to Virginia-Wise at Murphy Gymnasium in more MEC action. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
