SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Junior guard Jaymon Mason turned in a brilliant performance, and Mikael Anderson posted a career-high 20 points, but it wasn't enough for the Edinboro men's basketball team to avoid a 102-86 loss at Notre Dame(Oh.) on Wednesday night at Murphy Gymnasium.  The loss dropped Edinboro to 2-6 after the Fighting Scots opened the year with back-to-back wins. The Falcons are now 7-2, with the two losses to nationally-ranked teams.

Mason scored 37 points, two shy of his career high, with stuffing the stat sheet with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He made 14-of-23 field goals, including 5-of-8 3-pointers, and was 4-for-4 at the line. He scored 25 points in the second half.

It marked the second straight 30-point effort of Mason's career, and the third this season. He now has seven career 30-point games. A year ago, he scored 39 points against Kutztown.

Anderson, a senior forward, made 7-of-16 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and was 5-of-5 at the line for his career-best 20 points. Anderson added eight rebounds.

Justin Sylver, playing just blocks away from where he lives, turned in the best performance of his young career. The 6'7" freshman had 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, making 5-of-10 field goals. Sheldon Brogdon also came off the bench to contribute 11 points.

Unfortunately, Mason was no match for the outside-inside duo of Kyauta Taylor and Will Vorhees. The two combined for 51 points. Taylor, 6'2" junior, scored 33 points, 22 of those in the first half. He made 12-of-23 field goals, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, and was 4-of-4 at the line. He added nine rebounds and five assists.
 

Voorhees, a 6'8" junior, contributed 28 points and nine rebounds, making 10-of-21 field goals, including 2-of-4 three's, plus 6-of-10 free throws. Vorhees came in ranked eighth in Division II in scoring (25.0 ppg.) and seventh in rebounds (11.6 rpg.).  Taylor added 18.4 ppg.

Edinboro continued to struggle on the defensive end, allowing 100-or-more points for the third time this year. The Fighting Scots allowed 53 points in the second half, and have now allowed 50-or-more points in a quarter six times.

Notre Dame shot 50.0 percent for the game (36-of-72), while Edinboro finished at 45.1 percent (32-of-71. The Falcons were just as hot from beyond the arc, making 15-of-30 3-pointers while Edinboro converted 9-of-26. The Fighting Scots made 13-of-16 free throws, with Notre Dame 15-of-19 from the charity stripe.

The Falcons also ruled the glass, 47-33, including 17 offensive rebounds. Edinboro committed eight turnovers and Notre Dame ten.

???????Edinboro trailed just 29-26 with 9:14 to play after Sylver's layup, but the Falcons went on an 11-2 run over the next two minutes, with Taylor hitting a pair of three's. The deficit never got under double figures after that, as Notre Dame led 49-33 at the half.

???????Edinboro opened the second half on a 6-2 run to close the gap to 51-39, with Anderson scoring on a layup and making a pair of free throws. The Falcons responded with the next six points on a three by Taylor and a three-point play by Voorhees to boost the lead back up to 18 points at 57-39.

Mason was unstoppable in the second half, at one point scoring 13 straight points in an effort to keep the Scots close.

The second half also featured the debut of Jon Girvin on the hardcourt. The starting defensive end on the football team joined the hoops squad on Monday and played four minutes, pulling down two rebounds. He was a standout in football and basketball at Northgate High School.

Edinboro will look to snap its six-game losing streak on Saturday, December 10 when Cheyney visits McComb Fieldhouse for a PSAC crossover game at 3 p.m. The six-game skid is the longest since the 1985-86 season.