Box Score CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Notre Dame Falcons saw their 2014-15 season come to an end on Friday afternoon, in a 71-57 loss to Fairmont State in the Quarterfinal Round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament.
Notre Dame (16-14) saw a brief, two-game winning streak come to an end with the loss, which was also their only loss on a neutral site this season, while the victory for Fairmont State (20-9) was their third over the Falcons this season.
While Fairmont State led the entire contest, Notre Dame never really allowed FSU to completely pull away until the end. Anytime Fairmont State would develop a double-digit lead, the Falcons would hit their stride and pull within striking distance, until the final few minutes of the game.
Both teams shot the ball very well at the beginning of the game, as Notre Dame hit on 66.7 (4) of their first six shots from the floor during the first six minutes, while FSU shot 54.5-percent (6-for-11) during that stretch, and held a 15-12 lead.
Tyree Gaiter was perfect during that stretch, not missing a shot from the free throw line or the floor, and had seven points to lead the Falcons. Meanwhile, Jamel Morris had the hot hand beyond the arc for FSU, getting all nine of his points on a trio of makes from beyond the arc.
Notre Dame went into a bit of a shooting funk over the next three minutes, as they missed their next four shots from the floor, which allowed the Fighting Falcons of Fairmont State to develop a 24-13 advantage.
Najeeb Johnson buried a 3-pointer at the 8:24-mark, ending NDC's shooting slump, and brought the deficit down to eight (24-16), and Gaiter brought them within six (24-18) two possessions later on a layup.
Both sides experienced a bit of a drought, and some shooting woes over the next few minutes. Gaiter hit a jumper to bring NDC within six (26-20), then NDC missed their last four shots, and went scoreless over the next four minutes, while Fairmont State hit on just 2-of-11 shots during that stretch, but still led 29-20.
Oliver Megins ended NDC's shooting slump with a tip-in with just 1:30 remaining, bringing NDC within seven (29-22), but Fairmont State made the final shot of the half, and went into the half, with a 31-22 advantage.
Both teams struggled a bit making their shots in the first half, with NDC hitting on 36.4-percent (8-for-22) from the floor while Fairmont State shot 38.7-percent (12-for-31) in the first half.
The first few minutes of the half belonged to Fairmont State. Their lead immediately grew to 12 (34-22) on a 3-pointer from Morris on their opening possession, and they maintained a double digit lead over the first three minutes of the half.
FSU was ahead 11 (39-28), before the Falcons went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes, highlighted by buckets from
Will Vorhees and
Kyauta Taylor, and free throws from
Lawrence DeArmond to bring the deficit down to five (39-35), with 15:29 left.
The Fighting Falcons wouldn't let NDC get too comfortable, as they followed that with a 6-0 run of their own over the next two minutes to regain a double digit lead (45-35).
FSU led by 11 (49-38) with 11:56 to go, when the Falcons went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, getting six of those points form DeArmond, and trailed just three (49-46) with 9:42 to play.
However, Morris, who set a new MEC record with nine makes from beyond the arc, hit another one from long distance to halt the NDC run. The Falcons were not able to get any closer, as they did not have an answer for, as the lead for Fairmont State continued to grow, and they closed out the victory.
DeArmond and Gaiter led the way with 15 points each. DeArmond added four points and six boards in his final contest of his career, while Gaiter added six assists. Vorhees scored in double figures for the Falcons as well, with 10 points.
