Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame College men's basketball team pulled off an extraordinary upset on Friday afternoon, defeating the third-seeded and nationally fifth-ranked Fairmont State Fighting Falcons in the Mountain East Conference Quarterfinals, 79-78. Kyauta Taylor drained a pair of clutch free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Falcons forced a defensive stop to advance to the MEC Semifinals on Saturday night.

Equally as impressive as the 79-78 win was Tyree Gaiter becoming the all-time leading scorer in Notre Dame men's basketball program history. Gaiter, a senior from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, hit a 3-pointer with 7:58 remaining in the game to tally 2,354 career points, surpassing the previous record of 2,353 points held by Eric Dummermuth.

Gaiter finished the game with 20 points, eight assists and three steals for the Falcons. Taylor dropped 20 points and nine rebounds while Will Vorhees had 21 points and eight rebounds for NDC.

Ja'Sean Lewis also reeled in a game-high 18 rebounds, as well as blocking Fairmont State's final shot to secure the win for NDC.

The Falcons came ready to play on Friday, taking a 19-9 lead over FSU following a lay-up from Gaiter with 8:59 left in the first half. NDC then continued maintain a 10-point lead, 27-17, following a pair of free throws with Gaiter.

FSU fought back with an 8-4 run to cut the Falcons' lead to just six, 31-25, but NDC maintained its composure. The Falcons went into halftime holding a nine-point lead, 45-36, after shooting 59.4 percent in the first half.

Early in the second half, Vorhees nailed a 3-pointer to give the Falcons a 54-43 lead with 15:31 remaining in regulation.

And then Fairmont State made its run. FSU 13-4 run to cut NDC's lead to just two, 58-56, with 11:25 remaining, and suddenly it was a brand new ballgame.

After both teams made a pair of free throws, Taylor hit a shot from deep with 10:05 remaining to put the Falcons up by five, 63-58. Five minutes later, the Falcons still led by five, 70-65, after Gaiter hit two more free throws.

However, a tip-in from FSU's Thomas Wimbush capped an 8-3 run , tying the score at 73-73 with just 2:37 remaining. 

On NDC's ensuing possession, Vorhees hit two more free throws to give the Falcons the lead again, 75-73. But FSU's Matt Bingaya responded with a three-point play to give the fifth-ranked Fighting Falcons their first lead of the game, 76-75, with 1:16 remaining.

Following a timeout from FSU, Ryan Hickoff stepped up for the Falcons as he scored a tip-in basket to give NDC a 77-76 lead with just 54 seconds left in the game. FSU responded with a jumper from Wimbush, taking the lead once again, 78-77, with 31 seconds left in the game.

Trailing by one in a win-or-go-home game, the Falcons called timeout with 17 seconds on the game clock.

In dire need of a basket to take the lead, Gaiter took it to the rack but was blocked on the attempt. Lewis grabbed the loose ball for the Falcons, but was off the mark with his shot. However, Lewis kept the possession alive by swatting the ball back out to the perimeter, where Taylor secured the ball this time.

Taylor was then fouled with 6.5 seconds remaining and the Falcons trailing by one, 78-77. Taylor hit the free throw to tie the score at 78-78, and FSU called a 30-second timeout to talk things over.

With the score tied at 78 and just 6.5 seconds remaining, Taylor stepped to the line with a chance to win the game for the Falcons. The sophomore guard stepped to the line, took a few dribbles, and calmly nailed his second free throw attempt, putting the Falcons on top, 79-78.

FSU had a chance for one last shot, but Lewis swatted the lay-up attempt to secure the 79-78 upset victory for the Falcons on Friday afternoon.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 20-10 overall, including a 13-10 mark against MEC competition.

NDC will now advance to the MEC Semifinals on Saturday, March 5 as they take on the second-seeded, and nationally fourth-ranked, Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals. The winner will advance to the MEC Championship game on Sunday afternoon.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:15 pm on Saturday night.