Box Score
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The Notre Dame Falcons were down 10 with just over two minutes to play on Thursday evening and brought the deficit down to two, but ultimately, their comeback fell just short, in an 85-80 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan.

For the Falcons (9-14, 7-10 MEC) the loss was their third in a row, and their 10th in 12 road games,  while for WV Wesleyan (16-6, 11-6) the victory was their third in a row, and gives them four in their last six games.

Notre Dame had trouble filling it up in the early stages of the game, as they shot just 1-for-9 (11.1-percent) over the first five and a half minutes, allowing the Bobcats to take an early 9-2 advantage.

The lead quickly reached double digits for the Bobcats, as they took a 19-9 advantage at the 11:24-mark in the opening half, and they continued to hit their shots while the Falcons continued to struggle to find their stroke, and with 3:21 left in the first half, WV Wesleyan had mounted a 20-point (40-20) lead.

Over the next two minutes, the Falcons ran off eight straight points, as Tyree Gaiter and Lawrence DeArmond each hit a pair of buckets to bring the deficit down to 12 (40-28), which was part of an 11-5 run for the Falcons at the end of the half.

Notre Dame shot just 38.2-percent (13-for-34) from the floor in the opening half, and over a third of their points came from Gaiter, who finished the half with 11 points. The Bobcats on the other hand, shot very well in the first half, hitting 51.7-percent (15-for-29) of their shots.

The Bobcats maintained a double digit lead through the early stages of the second half, until DeArmond buried a 3-pointer with 15:13-remaining, to bring NDC within nine (50-41).

WV Wesleyan held a 10-point (76-66) lead with just 2:13 to play, when Notre Dame caught fire and got back into the game.  Gaiter nailed four free throws to trigger a 9-1 run, which was capped by DeArmond's layup with 1:10 remaining to bring NDC within two (77-75).

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Bobcats made the most of their chances at the free throw line, as they hit on all but just one of their eight free throws in the final minute of the contest to come away with the victory.

A trio of Falcons scored in double figures, and Gaiter led the way with 29 points to go along with seven assists and three steals.  Geovonte Rose delivered another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and DeArmond finished the game with 21 points, eight boards and four steals.


The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Feb. 15, for another MEC tilt, as they return home to take on Glenville State (W.Va.) at Murphy Gymnasium. The contest is scheduled to tip at 3:00 p.m.