Box Score
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Notre Dame Falcon guard Tyree Gaiter had a huge game on Thursday night, scoring 44 points, but it was not enough as the Falcons fell in the final minute of the contest to West Virginia State, 101-99.

Gaiter's 44-point performance marked the second highest single game scoring outburst in program history.  He was one point shy of Jerome Pierce's record. Pierce, who was recently inducted in to NDC's Hall of Fame, scored 45 back on Feb. 21, 2007.

For the Falcons (9-16, 7-12 MEC) the loss was their fourth in a row, while for WV State (10-13, 5-14), the victory snapped a two-game slide in conference play, and was their second in a row overall.

Gaiter did most of his damage in the second half, where he scored 28 points. On the night, he was simply on fire from the floor, shooting 73.9-percent (17-for-23) including an 88.9-percent (8-for-9) clip from beyond the arc.

The opening five minutes were controlled by the Yellow Jackets.  They shot 60.0-percent (6-for-10) during that stretch, while limiting Notre Dame's possessions, and got out of the gate with a 15-4 advantage.  

Things didn't get much better for the Falcons for the following five minutes, as the Yellow Jackets cooled off some, but used a significant advantage on the glass to pad their lead.  WVSU outrebounded the Falcons, 15-5 over the first 10 minutes of the game, and held a 23-11 lead with 9:55-remaining.

However, Notre Dame fought back over the next two minutes of the contest, going on a 10-4 run, triggered by a pair of 3-pointers from Gaiter, and layups from Geovonte Rose and Jarvis Huntley, to trim the deficit to six (27-21) with 7:45 left in the first half.

The run was halted quickly, as the Yellow Jackets responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes of the contest. Dimitrios Jelen-Joy was responsible for seven of those points during that two minute stretch, as the Yellow Jackets seized control again, taking a 35-21 lead with 5:58 to play.

Notre Dame battled back once again, this time closing out the half on a 9-0 run inside the final two minutes of the half.  Gaiter was responsible for first five points of the aforementioned run, while Huntley and Ryan Hickoff hit layups to narrow the deficit to four (43-39) at the half.

NDC shot it well in the opening half, hitting on 46.7-percent (14) of their 30 shots in the opening stanza, and outscored the Yellow Jackets, 20-14 in the paint.  WVSU shot 46.7-percent (7-for-15) from beyond the arc in the first half, and used a 27-17 advantage on the glass to stay in front.

The two teams went back and forth over the first 10 minutes of the second half, and after trailing for most of the contest, the Falcons battled back to tie the game, 66-66, at the 11:29-mark on Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson's layup. NDC was able to pull even, thanks to a 57.8-percent (11-for-19) shooting performance during the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Neither side was able to pull away over the next few minutes, but the Falcons seized their first lead since the game's opening minutes, after Gaiter hit a jumper with 4:07 to play to give NDC a 92-90 advantage.

WVSU took a 99-97 lead on Bo King's 3-pointer with just under a minute to play, before the Falcons answered 10 seconds later on Huntley's layup to tie the game at 99-99 with 48 seconds left.

The Yellow Jackets turned it over with 14 seconds left, but NDC gave it right back, as Juan Johnson picked Huntley's pocket, and King converted on a layup at the other end with 12 seconds left for the eventual game winner.  Lawrence DeArmond put up a shot at the buzzer to try and force overtime, but the shot didn't fall.

In addition to Gaiter's 44-point performance, three other Falcons scored in double figures. DeArmond added 17 points, while Huntley came a rebound shy of a double-double, with 15 points and nine boards. Rose hauled in seven rebounds to go along with 14 points.

The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Feb. 22, for another MEC road tilt as they head to Charleston, W.Va., to take on the University of Charleston.  The contest is scheduled to tip at 4:00 p.m.