ERIE, Pa. – Another injury strikes Notre Dame College early against Gannon University as the Falcons fall 88-63 on Tuesday night.

Playing their third straight game on the road, NDC (3-9) took an early lead when redshirt-sophomore Drew Scarberry hit a layup at the 19:31-mark to put the Falcons up 2-1.

After that point, Gannon (6-5) went on a 17-3 offensive run in the span of five and-a-half minutes. With 12:30 remaining in the first half, the Golden Knights led 18-5.

The Falcons had to work hard to get back into the game and they were able to reach single digits. After the Gannon run, the next ten Notre Dame points were scored by senior Oliver Megins.

Megins entered the contest less than a minute into the game as redshirt-junior Angelo Cugini limped off the court.

Freshman Halil Parks and senior Kyauta Taylor hit back-to-back threes and with 5:54 remaining before halftime, the Falcons trailed by just eight points, 29-21.

At halftime, the Golden Knights led the game by a score of 47-30. Megins had 10 points and was shooting 67-percent from the field. Parks led the team with five assists. The Falcons shot 50-percent while Gannon shot 52-percent.

Head coach Tim Koenig said the Falcons have to finish plays and get defensive rebounds, in order to avoid a lull in the middle of the half.

"We have to take care of the basketball and keep them out of the paint," he said.

GU used the large halftime lead to stay ahead of Notre Dame in the second half and win the game.

"Gannon played a really good game," Koenig mentioned. "They hurt us on the glass and the offensive rebounds were really difficult to overcome. They were also able to get the ball into the paint."

Parks finished the game with 22 points, for the Falcons, as he shot 8-for-15 from the floor and knocked down four three pointers. Megins had 13 points while shooting 71-percent (5-for-7) off the bench, including three made baskets from three point range. Freshman Levi Frankland recorded 11 points and Scarberry added 10 points. NDC shot 47-percent, overall.

For Gannon, Zay Jackson had 25 points and shot 56-percent (9-for-16) from the field and 50-percent (5-for-10) from three. Damon Miraud added 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jair Green scored 12 points. The Golden Knights shot 53-percent, overall, and grabbed 43 rebounds.

The Falcons will have a week off of practice and Koenig said that will help the team rest and get healthier. But then Notre Dame has to get ready for conference play next month.

"We will be working on cutting down turnovers, being more efficient and getting defensive rebounds," he said. "We have to get collectively better but also stick together and play hard as a unit and execute."

The Falcons will play at Glenville State College after the holiday break on January 4. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.