Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons and Shepherd Rams combined to make 32 3-pointers on Thursday evening at Murphy Gymnasium, but 21 of those came from the Rams, who caught fire early, and defeated the Falcons, 108-94.
The loss for the Falcons (16-7, 10-7 MEC) snapped a four-game winning streak overall, and a four-game winning streak at home, while the win for the Rams (12-11, 7-10 MEC) snapped a three-game losing streak, and avenged a loss to the Falcons earlier this year.
Shepherd could not miss from 3-point land, as they shot 52.5-percent (21-for-40) from beyond the arc, getting 11 of those in the first 11 minutes of the contest to develop an early lead, and they never looked back. Notre Dame got 35 points from
Tyree Gaiter, but it was not enough to dig the Falcons out of that early hole.
The Rams set the tone very early on. They knocked down 75-percent (8) of their first 12 shots from long distance over the opening nine minutes of the contest to take a 30-10 advantage. Notre Dame had a tough time keeping up, as the lead grew to 24 over the next two minutes, which saw the Rams knock down their next three shots from beyond the arc to take a 39-15 advantage.
While Shepherd continued to knock down their shots, and led by double digits the rest of the way, Notre Dame continued to fight. The Falcons went on an 11-0 run over the next four and a half minutes, getting buckets from four different players (Gaiter,
Ja'Sean Lewis,
Najeeb Johnson and
Ryan Hickoff), as they brought the deficit down to 13 (39-26) with 5:44 left in the half.
Though they cut into the lead, Shepherd's sharp shooting continued through the final few minutes of the half, as they went into halftime, with a 57-35 advantage. The Rams shot 56.5-percent (13-for-23) from 3-point land in the first half.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half belonged to the Rams, as they led by as many as 29 (74-45) with 16:19 to play, but Notre Dame battled again, and brought the deficit back down.
Despite their best efforts in the second half, which included a few modest runs, Notre Dame was only able to draw as close as 12, and did so on two separate occasions. They were down 12 (96-84) after a layup by
Kyauta Taylor with 2:41 to play, but could not draw any closer.
Four Falcons scored in double figures, and Gaiter led the way with 35 to go along with eight assists and three steals, while Lewis and
Will Vorhees each contributed with double-doubles. Vorhees had 18 points and 15 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, while Lewis scored 12 points, added 13 rebounds, seven on the offensive end, and came away with four blocks as well. Taylor finished the night with 12 points.
The Falcons are in action again on Saturday, Feb. 13, when they host Senior Day against No. 8 Fairmont State at Murphy Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
