Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons used a great defensive effort to come away with another home victory on Monday night, defeating Virginia-Wise, 80-65 at Murphy Gymnasium.
The victory for the Falcons (4-1, 2-0 MEC) was their second in three games against the Cavaliers, marking their finest start in five years, while the loss for the Cavaliers (1-4, 0-2 MEC) marks their fourth in a row since beginning the season with a victory.
A 3-point barrage began the contest, as the first 18 points of the game came on 3-point field goals. Both teams nailed a trio of 3-pointers over the first two-and-a-half minutes. The game was tied at 13-13 with 15:59 remaining, before the Falcons triggered an 8-2 run, and never trailed at any point throughout the opening half, and they led by as many as 13 (37-24) at one point.
Towards the end of the half, the Cavaliers were able to dive into the deficit, as they trimmed the deficit down to six (43-37) by the end of the first half.
Lawrence DeArmond turned in a huge first half for the Falcons, with 17 points, including a pair of thunderous dunks. Notre Dame wasn't able to find their stroke from long distance, shooting just 27.3-percent (3-for-11) from 3-point land, but shot extremely well inside the arc, hitting on 57.1-percent (12-for-21) of those opportunities.
Notre Dame immediately caught fire at the start of the second half to pull away. The Falcons nailed five out of their first six shots in the second half, while the Cavaliers went ice cold, as the Falcons held them scoreless through the five minutes of the half, and found themselves behind, by 21 (58-37) at the 15:20-mark.
NDC's persistent defensive attack continued to affect the Cavaliers in the second half as their shooting struggles continued. The Cavs had just three field goals, and shot just 20.0-percent (3-for-15) over the first nine minutes of the half, while the NDC maintained its large lead.
Notre Dame was able to maintain a double digit lead through the rest of the contest, as NDC continued to force turnovers, and capitalized on those turnovers as well.
On the night, NDC forced 11 turnovers, and scored 13 points off those turnovers. In addition, they were able to crash the offensive glass consistently, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds, creating nine points in second chance opportunities.
DeArmond led the way for the Falcons on the night with 29 points.
Tyree Gaiter had another big night for Notre Dame, as he turned in a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists.
Will Vorhees finished the night with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Falcons will return to action on Monday, Dec. 1, when they play host to Ohio Midwestern at Murphy Gymnasium in a non-conference tilt. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
