Box Score GLENVILLE, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame Falcons executed a season sweep of the Glenville State Pioneers, as they endured a second half comeback on Saturday evening, on the strength of some clutch free throws from
Tyree Gaiter in the final minute, for a 90-89 victory.
For the Falcons (14-11, 10-9 MEC) the win was their third in their last four games, and second in a row on the road, while for the Pioneers (17-8, 13-6 MEC) the loss was their third in a row, marking their longest skid of the season.
The game went back-and-forth in the second half, with Notre Dame leading by as many as 17 before the Pioneers came roaring back, but Gaiter hit 10 free throws inside the final minute to seal the deal for the Falcons in another upset victory.
The Falcons were red hot to start the game, as they began the contest on a 9-2 run over the first two minutes of the contest. The 9-2 was highlighted by
Oliver Megins and
Kyauta Taylor, as NDC hit 50.0-percent (3) of their first six shots from the floor to take the lead.
Glenville State clawed their way back into the contest, however, as they caught fire from the floor, and their shots began to fall. The Pioneers took their first lead of the contest at the 11:15-mark on 3-pointer from Luke Campbell to give them a 22-20 lead.
Halfway through the opening stanza, half of NDC's eight successful makes from the field were from 3-point land, and the Falcons used an incredible 14-4 edge on the glass to take a 21-20 lead just over 10 minutes in. Notre Dame was able to create several second chance opportunities, by grabbing seven offensive rebounds during that stretch, and they limited GSC's second chances, by not allowing a single offensive rebound to the Pioneers.
The rest of the opening half was very tightly contested, with neither team able to take a lead any larger than four. Glenville State shot very well in the opening half, and they hit seven 3-pointers. They took a 42-39 lead with 51 seconds left, before
Lawrence DeArmond hit NDC's ninth 3-pointer of the opening stanza to tie the game at 42-42, which was the score at the break.
NDC endured a hot shooting performance from the Pioneers in the opening 20 minutes, as GSC shot 61.5-percent (16-for-26), including a 58.3-percent (7-for-12) clip from beyond the arc. Notre Dame also shot well, hitting 48.4-percent (15) of their first 31 shots to fall, including a 47.4-percent (9-for-19) mark from long distance. In addition, the Falcons doubled the Pioneers on the glass, with an incredible 18-9 rebounding advantage.
The first few minutes of the second half belonged to Notre Dame, as they held the Pioneers without a bucket, and went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from both DeArmond and Taylor, to take a 50-42 lead.
Over the next two minutes, the Falcon lead grew to double digits, as
Tyree Gaiter assisted on buckets from both Taylor and
Will Vorhees, and NDC took a 57-46 advantage with 14:44 left in the contest.
The Notre Dame lead continued to grow over the next four minutes, as the Falcons really began to hit their stride and hit six of their next nine shots to take their largest lead of the contest, 69-52, on a jumper from Vorhees with 10:39 left in the half.
It wasn't long, before the Pioneers began battling back. Notre Dame held a 16-point (71-55) lead with 10:08 to play, when the Pioneers went on a 18-1 run over the next six minutes , and regained the lead with 4:20 to play.
Notre Dame went seven minutes without making a shot from the field, until Vorhees hammered down a dunk with 3:34 remaining to give NDC a 74-73 lead. However, the Pioneers regained the lead one minute later on a 3-poitner from Campbell to make it 76-74 GSC with 2:37 left.
Megins buried a big 3-pointer for the Falcons with 1:25 left, to give NDC an 80-79 advantage, and Gaiter made a pair of free throws just inside the one-minute mark to push the NDC lead to three (82-79).
The final minute of the contest provided plenty of opportunities for both teams at the free throw line, and Gaiter was a big part of that equation, nailing 10 straight free throws inside the final minute, as the Falcons hung on for the win.
Gaiter had a season high 12 assists, tied for the most in a single game in the MEC this season, to go along with 16 points. He was one of five Falcons to score in double figures. Vorhees led the way with a career high, 23 points and added eight rebounds. Taylor added 18 points, while Megins contributed with 14, and DeArmond finished the game with 13.
The Falcons are in action again next Thursday, Feb. 19 when they hit the road for another MEC tilt, as they square off against WV State. Tipoff in Institute, W.Va., is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
