Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons fell at home for just the second time this season, in a 73-66 setback to the University of Charleston at Murphy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
For the Falcons (5-3, 1-3 MEC) the loss was only their fifth at home over the course of the last two seasons, spanning 19 games during that stretch, while the victory for the Golden Eagles (4-4, 3-1 MEC) was their second in a row, and their third on the road this season.
Charleston's incredible defensive effort haunted the Falcons throughout the contest. Notre Dame had a difficult time making their shots, as they shot 35.6-percent (21-for-59) on the day. Despite a great effort to stay within striking distance until the end, they trailed for all but one minute of the contest.
The shooting woes began at the beginning of the contest, as Charleston was able to clamp down defensively, and over the first six minutes of the game, they took a 13-8 lead. During that stretch, UC hit all three of their 3-point attempts, while the Falcons shot 20.0-percent (2-for-10) from the floor.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, things didn't get much better over the next four minutes. With 9:43 left in the half, Notre Dame found themselves behind, 25-17, with 10 of those 17 points coming from
Will Vorhees.
Despite not being able to get their shots to fall, Notre Dame was able to trim the deficit down to three (31-28) with 4:17 left in the half on a free throw from
Kyauta Taylor. Over the next three minutes, UC would develop a 10-point (41-31) lead, before
Najeeb Johnson hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left in the half, as NDC went into the locker room down seven (41-34).
Notre Dame hit on 35.7-percent (10-for-28) of their shots from the floor in the opening half, while the Golden Eagles converted on 48.4-percent (15-for-31) of their shots during that same stretch.
The Falcons shot a little better over the first five minutes of the second half.
Tyree Gaiter hit a layup on the back end of a fast break just over a minute into the half to bring Notre Dame within five. At the 14:23-mark in the half, the Falcons had hit 50.0-percent (4-for-8) of their shots from the floor during the half, as they closed the gap to six (51-45).
However, anytime it looked like the Falcons were going to tie things up, the Golden Eagles' smothering defense was able to stop the Falcons, and convert on the offensive end.
UC's lead again grew to 10 (59-49) with 9:14 remaining, and they would lead by as many as 12 (65-53) with 5:37 to play, but the Falcons got back within striking distance.
Notre Dame responded with an 8-0 run over the next four minutes, which was capped by a 3-pointer from Gaiter with 1:41 left, bringing the Falcons back within four (65-61).
Over the final 90 seconds of the game, the Golden Eagles were able to put the game away by hitting 8-of-10 free throws during that stretch, never allowing the Falcons to get any close than four.
Gaiter led the way for the Falcons with 26 points on the night, go to along with five assists and four steals, while Vorhees added 23 points and nine rebounds.
Ja'Sean Lewis was strong again inside, coming away with a team high, 14 rebounds, and added four blocks.
The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Dec. 12, when they play host to Mercyhurst (Pa.) in a non-conference tilt at Murphy Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
