Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons put the clamps on Virginia-Wise in the opening stages of the second half on Tuesday night, as they came away with a 100-83 victory over the Cavaliers at Murphy Gymnasium.
The Falcons (10-4, 4-4 MEC) have now won five out of their last six games, and the 100-point output was their fourth of the season, while the loss for the Cavaliers (3-11, 1-7 MEC) was their third in their last four games.
Virginia-Wise shot the ball well in the first half, and stayed well within striking distance, trailing NDC by just three (51-48) in the first half, before the Falcons turned up the heat defensively, forcing the Cavaliers to miss 14 of their first 16 shots in the second half, which allowed the Falcons to develop a double-digit lead and they pulled away.
The Cavaliers led the Falcons for most of the first five and half minutes of the contest, until
Tyree Gaiter's layup gave NDC an 18-17 lead with 14:26 left in the half. Notre Dame led for the next 12 minutes of the first half, following Gaiter's layup.
NDC led by as many as seven during that stretch and did so on multiple occasions. The Falcons had a 42-35 lead after
Ja'Sean Lewis hit a pair of free throws with 4:46 to play in the first half, before the Cavaliers hit their stride, and went on a 10-3 run over the next two and a half minutes to tie the game at 45-45.
Moments later, the Cavaliers took what would be their final lead of the game, on a 3-pointer from Lashain Matthews with 1:39 remaining, but both
Will Vorhees, Gaiter and Lewis all connected in the final two minutes of the half to give the Falcons a 3-point lead (51-48) going into the locker room.
It didn't take long for Notre Dame to take advantage of Wise's shooting woes in the second half, as they developed a double-digit lead (65-54) four minutes into the half after Vorhees buried a jumper, counting four his seventh and eighth points of the half.
At one point in the second half, the Cavaliers went nearly ten and a half minutes without making a shot from the field, which allowed the Falcons to really open things up.
While the Cavaliers were ice cold from the field, the Falcons were red hot. NDC led by 10 (69-59) with 11:51 to play, when they caught fire from the field, nailing their next seven shots over a three and a half minute stretch, giving them an 87-61 lead. During that incredible run where NDC outscored the Cavs, 18-2, Gaiter was responsible for 13 of those points, and he assisted on a pair of buckets as well.
Notre Dame would lead by as many as 28 (89-61) after
Ryan Hickoff's layup with 7:54 to play, and they were able to coast to the finish line to pick up the victory.
Gaiter was incredible for the Falcons once again, leading all scorers with 37 points on the night to go along with six assists and seven steals. Vorhees and Lewis both delivered double-doubles for the Falcons. Vorhees finished the night with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Lewis had a team high, 15 rebounds to go along with 16 points and three blocks.
Marco Colombo had a nice night for the Falcons as well, scoring 12 points to go along with six rebounds.
The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Jan. 16, when they head to Fairmont, W.Va., for another Mountain East Conference matchup against Fairmont State. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
