Box Score FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Notre Dame Falcons fell into a bit of a funk in the first half of Saturday's contest against No. 3 Fairmont State, and it cost them in a 95-69 setback on the road.
The loss for Notre Dame (10-5, 4-5 MEC) snapped a three-game road winning streak, and was just their second in their last seven overall. For No. 3 Fairmont State (14-1, 8-1 MEC) the victory was their ninth in a row at home and eighth in a row overall.
It was an evenly contested battle over the first 10 minutes. Notre Dame and Fairmont State both shot the ball very well early on, and Notre Dame had a slight advantage, leading by five (14-9) after
Will Vorhees hit a pair of free throws at the 15:57-mark.
Fairmont State then scored nine of the game's next 10 points over a two-minute stretch to regain the lead, taking an 18-16 advantage with 13:52 remaining in the opening half.
Kyauta Taylor hit a layup and Vorhees hit two more free throws on NDC's next two possessions to tie the game at 20-20, before Fairmont State caught fire.
After the two Vorhees free throws to tie the game at 20-20, Fairmont State went on a 10-0 over the next three minutes to take a 30-20 lead, before
Najeeb Johnson finally ended the drought by hitting a 3-pointer to trim the deficit back it single digits (30-23) with 10:38 left in the half.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, their shooting struggles continued, as they were held to just two points over the next six minutes, while FSU continued to knock down their shots, and went on a 17-2 run during that stretch to take a 47-25 lead.
The final four minutes of the opening half did not change much, as Notre Dame went into the locker room, down 57-33 at the half. Notre Dame shot 42.4-percent (14-33) in the opening half, while FSU shot the lights out, converting 61.3-percent (19) of their 31 shots in the first half, including a 42.9-percent (6-for-14) clip from 3-point land.
The second didn't fare much better for the Falcons, as FSU maintained a double digit lead for the remainder of the contest.
Notre Dame was able to trim the deficit to 17 (80-63) after
Tyree Gaiter hit a 3-pointer with 6:45 remaining, but that was as close as they could get.
Vorhees led the Falcons with 19 points and added six rebounds, including three on the offensive end, to go along with a pair of assists. Taylor added 17 points for the Falcons, on the strength of a 58.3-percent (7-for-12) shooting performance from the field, and Gaiter added 13 points, seven assists and five steals. Gaiter is now six points away from reaching 2,000 points in his career.
The Falcons will be in action again on Monday, Jan. 18, when they square off against the Shepherd Rams in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The contest is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
