Box Score WISE, Va. -- The Notre Dame College men's basketball team picked up a Thursday night road win over the host Virginia-Wise Cavaliers in a Mountain East Conference battle, 91-77. The win snaps a two-game skid for the Falcons, who improve to 17-8 overall (11-8 MEC).
Tyree Gaiter led the way for the Falcons with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Kyauta Taylor had 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists while
Will Vorhees had 20 points and 11 rebounds for NDC.
The battle between the visiting Falcons and host Cavaliers was close early on, with NDC leading 16-14 following a Taylor 3-pointer with 9:30 remaining before halftime. Just over two minutes later, Gaiter hit a three of his own to push the Falcons' lead to six, 23-17, with 7:27 remaining in the half.
With just 1:41 remaining before halftime,
Jay Banyasz drained a pair of free throws to keep the Falcons ahead by six, 33-27. However, consecutive threes from the Cavaliers tied the game at halftime, 33-33.
The second half began with a bang as Taylor drilled a 3-pointer to spark the Falcons offense. Gaiter then hit a jumper of his own, and
Ja'Sean Lewis scored a lay-up as NDC spread the scoring wealth early in the second half.
With 16:31 remaining, Gaiter hit a 3-pointer and was fouled on the play, hitting the free throw for the four-point play to give NDC a 46-38 lead.
A pair of free throws from Gaiter and another basket from Lewis extended the Falcons' lead to 50-40 as NDC began to pull away early in the second half.
Banyasz then scored a lay-up to push NDC's lead to 12 points, 59-47, with 10:50 remaining in the game.
The Falcons paced their lead over the course of the second half, still leading 77-67 with just 4:07 remaining. Gaiter then drained a 3-pointer to push the Falcons' lead to 8067 with just 3:24 remaining, essentially putting the game on ice for NDC.
From there, the Falcons closed out the road win over the Cavaliers, 91-77. With the win, NDC improved to 17-8 on the season, including an 11-8 mark in MEC play.
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Feb. 20 on the road against the MEC rival Concord Mountain Lions. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
