Falcons Continue Recent Road Surge.

The Notre Dame Falcons improved to 9-13 and 4-6 in the AMC with a 88-78 win over the Pioneers of Point Park. The Falcons win was the third straight for the "blue and white" on the road in conference play. The Falcons opened up a big lead early and hit some crucial free throws late to get there most recent road win. Four Falcons scored in double figures on the day. Eric Dummermuth posted another double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Curtis McClure, who has been beneficial in the last three wins for the Falcons added 23. Rodney Mickens and Nate Ensz added 15 and 12 points respectively. The hot shooting Falcons shot 50% (32-64) on the day. They were 5-15 from long range. The Falcons hit 73% from the free throw line (19-26). The Falcons won the battle on the boards 44-35 and had 14 turnovers.

Point Park had just two players score in double figures as they dropped to 11-7 and 5-5 in the AMC. The Pioneers were led by Jimmy Sherwood who poured in a game high 31 points. Kris Douse added 19 to go along with 8 rebounds. The Pioneers shot 42% (27-64). They were just 31% (9-29) from three point range. The Pioneers were porous at the foul line making just 54% (15-28) at the charity stripe. The Pioneers had 13 miscues.

The Falcons jumped out to a early 10-0 lead in the first 3:06 before Douse would get the Pioneers on the board. The Pioneers would go on a little run of their own and cut the Falcons lead to 16-13 with 12:21 in the opening half. NDC would lead by as many as 11, and the Pioneers would get as close as 5 before the Falcons would take a 7 point lead (37-30) at the intermission.

The start of the second half would see the Falcons stretch the lead to 12 (50-38) on a Mickens trey. After a 5 point Pioneers run the Falcons would push the lead back out to 12 again. PPU would once again fight back and the Pioneers would shave the lead to six (72-66) on another Douse jumper with 5:14 left. After the two teams traded buckets Curtis McClure would make a pair of free throws with 1:24 left to go to stretch the lead to 78-68. PPU would cut it to six with 53 seconds and that is as close as they would get. McClure, Mickens and Taylor Reiger would "ice it" at the foul line.

The Falcons will look to continue the recent road success as they will travel to Roberts Wesleyan. The Raiders were a 62-58 winner in the first meeting back on January 21st. The Raiders come in at 11-11 (5-6 AMC). Tip time is set for 8 PM on Thursday night.

NDC Picks Up Much Needed Road Win.

The Notre Dame Falcons 8-13 (3-6 AMC) picked up a 77-58 road win over Houghton Tuesday night. The Falcons improved to 3-5 on the road with its second straight win away from Murphy Gym.

Eric Dummermuth led three Falcons in double figures as they snapped a three game losing skid overall. Dummermuth had a game high 27 points on 10 of 14 shooting. He was one rebound shy of a double double as Dummermuth had 9 boards to go with his 27 points. Taylor Reiger netted 13 while Curtis McClure came off the bench to score 16. The Falcons shot 52% in this one. They struggled from long range hitting just 3 of 10 from distance. NDC shot 74% at the charity stripe on the night. The Falcons won the battle on the boards 41-34. The Falcons limited the turnovers in this game (which has been a problem all season) as they had just 11 miscues.

The Highlanders fell to 6-14 and 1-10 in the AMC. Only two Houghton players scored in double figures. Devin Paige had 18 points while David Dix added 10. Ryan Shay who had 25 points in the win at NDC on Saturday was held to 9 points on 2 of 9 shooting. The Highlanders shot just 34% from the floor and was 5-24 from three point land. The Highlanders made 64% of their free throws and had 14 turnovers.

NDC took control early in this one. The Falcons jumped out to a 26-9 lead on a Troy Baugh jumper a little over nine minutes in. The Highlanders would cut the lead to 9 at 33-24 on a Mike Munoz jumper with 3:19 in the opening half. NDC would lead 39-30 heading into the intermission.

After even basketball for the first part of the first half the Falcons would stretch the lead to 16 on a pair of occassions. The lead would grow to 20 and the Highlanders would get no closer than 15 the rest of the way. The Falcons will look to build on there recent road success as they will travel to Point Park on Saturday. Tip time is set for 4 PM. It will be the first of two meetings between the Falcons and the Pioneers will meet again at Murphy Gym on February 17th.

Falcons Drop See Saw Affair.

The Notre Dame Falcons woes in conference play continued Saturday at Murphy Gym as they dropped their third straight overall and second straight in the league 79-72 vs the Houghton Highlanders. It was a familiar story for the "blue and white" as they were out scored 40-31 in the second half.

Houghton improved to 6-12 and got there first win in the AMC. A pair of Highlanders tallied double numbers. Ryan Shay led the way with 25 points on 9 of 18 shooting. Mike Munoz added a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Highlanders shot 47% from the field and were 7-22 from long range. Houghton was a solid 18-22 (82%) at the charity stripe. The Highlanders also had 12 assists to go with 12 turnovers as a team.

NDC dropped to 7-13 (2-6 AMC) . The Falcons were led by Eric Dummermuth with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Dummermuth was 7-13 from the floor and 11-13 at the foul line. Taylor Reiger added 14 points on 6 of 16 shooting. Victor Pappas provided a spark for the Falcons off the bench as he had 3 points, 2 assists and a steal in 9 minutes.

The game saw 9 lead changes and 8 ties. The game started with the two teams playing evenly for the first 8 minutes. The Falcons would take a brief one point lead at 18-17 on a Phil Biggs triple with 10:55 in the opening half. The Highalnders would respond with 5-0 run to go up by four. With 3:30 minutes in the opening half the Highlanders would lead 33-29. Pappas would enter the game and spark a 6-0 Falcon run as a Pappas layup would give NDC a 35-33 lead with 2:51 in the half. The Falcons would hold a 41-39 lead heading into the intermission.

The two teams would trade a pair of leads to start the second half and a Dummermuth jumper would give NDC a 45-42 lead with 17:35 to go. The Falcons would stretch that lead out to 9 on a Reiger three with 13:36 to go. The Highlanders would fight back and take a 63-58 lead after a 21-6 run for the Highlanders with 6:44 to play. The Falcons would get the lead down to 1 at 73-72 with 30 seconds to go on a Reiger trey. Rodney Mickens would miss a trey with 16 seconds and the Highlanders would make six free throws down the stretch to ice it.

The Falcons will hit the road as they will get a rematch with the Highlanders on Tuesday. Tip time at Houghton is set for 7 PM.

Falcons Drop Close Call To Raiders.

The Notre Dame Falcons remained win less in conference play at Murphy Gym this season. The Falcons fell Friday 62-58 to Roberts Wesleyan.

Roberts Wesleyan improved to 9-10 and 3-5 in the AMC. A pair of Raiders scored in double figures Friday. Jordan Heath posted a game high 23 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Alif Bland added 10 points and 5 boards for Roberts Wesleyan. The Raiders shot 47% from the floor including 5-14 (36%) from long range. The Raiders were 63% (5-8 at the foul line). The Raiders won despite getting crushed on the boards 44-24. The Raiders had 21 assists to go along with just 11 turnovers. The Raiders who lead the AMC in blocked shots improved that number blocking 9 shots Friday. They also had 8 steals as a team.

The Falcons 7-12 (2-5 AMC) dropped a second straight close call at home. The Falcons had three players score in double figures. Eric Dummermuth led the way with 17 points and 7 rebounds for the Falcons. Curtis McClure chipped in 14 points off the bench on 7 of 10 shooting. Taylor Reiger added 11 points and 4 assists to round out the double digit scorers. The Falcons shot 23-60 (38%) from the field as a team. The Falcons struggled both from three point land (5-17) and from the charity stripe (7-13). The Falcons had 12 assists along with 18 turnovers.

Both teams came out of the gates ice cold. Heath Jordan nailed a three with 18:00 to go in the opening half for the Raiders for the games first points. The teams would then trade buckets and a triple by Reiger would give the Falcons a 8-7 lead with 15:56 in the half. Wesleyan would then go on a 8-1 run that would give them a 15-9 lead with 13:54 in the half. The lead would stay at between 5-7 until a 6-0 Falcons run would give the Falcons a 27-26 lead on a pair of Dummermuth free throws. The Falcons would take a 32-30 lead heading into the locker room.

The second half would start the same way as the first did. Neither team would score in the first 2 minutes once again. Finally Alif Bland would break the drought and tie the game at 32 with 17:39 remaining. After a Dummermuth jumper gave the Falcons a brief lead the Raiders would score the next six points for a 38-34 lead. The Falcons would fight back and a Nate Ensz jumper would cap a 5-0 run that would give NDC a 43-42 lead with 11:27 left. Each team would then make another mini run and a pair of Jordan Heath free throws would give Wesleyan a 51-50 lead with 7:25 left. The two teams would go back and forth and the Falcons would take a 58-57 lead with 2:11 to go in the game. The Raiders would score the last five points as the Raiders suffocating defense shut down the Falcons late. NDC had one last chance down 4 with 2 seconds remaining but Nate Ensz missed a pair of free throws that sealed it.

The Falcons will be back in action Saturday as they look to right the ship against the Highlanders of Houghton. Tip time is set for 4 PM.

Pioneers Rally To Top Falcons.

The Malone Pioneers came in ranked in the country in NAIA division II. It took a half for the school from Canton to look like it but the Pioneers rallied from a 5 point halftime deficit to knock off the Notre Dame Falcons. It was the Falcons first loss at home in conference play since 2009. The Falcons fell to 7-11 and 2-4 in the AMC. The Pioneers improved to 14-6 (7-1 AMC).

The two teams would trade buckets in the early going. NDC would go in a mini-run to take a 18-12 lead on a Eric Dummermuth jumper. Malone then would go a run of their own to tie the game at 22 with 5:56 in the opening stanza. The Falcons would close the half on a 9-4 run to take a 5 point lead into the locker room. Taylor Reiger nailed a three to make the lead five. The Falcons would get off to a hot start in the second half and stretch the lead to 10 (36-26). The Pioneers would then go on a 20-2 run to take a 46-38 lead with 10:52 to go. The Falcons would answer and after a Eric Dummermuth tip with 6:15 to go the game would be knotted at 51. Che Richardson and Kyle Higgins would knock down a three pointer each to give Malone a 57-51 lead. The Falcons would then score the game's next four points to cut the Pioneer lead to 57-55 with 2:25 to go. Next time you looked up it was 64-57 Pioneers with 23 seconds left. The Falcons would make a furious rally late and a Taylor Reiger shot from half court would be off the mark and the Pioneers would hold on for the 65-62 win.

The Pioneers tallied a pair of players in double figures. Jock Rottman led the way with 12 points ,while Cory Veldhulzen netted 11. It was a balanced attack for the Pioneers as all nine players who saw action scored. They shot 38% from the floor in this one. The difference was from the three point line as the Pioneers were 10-23 (44%) including 6-12 in the second half. Malone did struggle at the foul line going just 7-12 (58%). The Pioneers had 12 turnovers.

NDC was led by another monster night from Eric Dummermuth. The Sophomore from Dover,OH scored 32 points and hauled down 15 rebounds. Taylor Reiger was the only other Falcons in double digits with 10 points. Reiger was only 4-11 from the floor. The Falcons shot 43% from the floor but only 36% in the second half. NDC was 3-9 (33%) from three point land. The Falcons shot 75% (9-12) at the charity stripe and won the rebounding battle 42-36. The Falcons hurt themselves with 17 turnovers.

The Falcons will be back in action Friday night. The Raiders of Roberts Wesleyan (7-10) will come to Murphy Gym. Tip time is set for 8 PM.

Falcons Get Payback Saturday.

The Notre Dame Falcons used their best road effort of the season to avenge a early season loss. The Falcons rolled to a 77-56 win over the Wildcats of Daemen. The Falcons fell to the Wildcats 77-69 back on November 30th.

The Falcons improved to 7-10 overall and 2-3 in the AMC with their second road win of the year. Three Falcons tallied in double figures on the afternoon. Eric Dummermuth continued his monster Sophomore season with yet another double-double. Dummermuth scored 24 points and hauled down a team high 11 boards. Taylor Reiger netted 14 points for the "blue and white". Rodney Mickens was the third Falcon in double numbers with 10 points. NDC shot 55% on the game. The Falcons got the road win despite going just 2 of 12 from long range. NDC had a solid night at the charity stripe going 15-17 (89%). The Falcons won the boards battle easily 41-30. The Falcons did have 19 miscues.

The Widcats fell to 10-10 (5-4 AMC) on the season. Daemen shot just 32% from the field on the game and were a dismal 4-21 from long distance. The Wildcats also struggled at the free throw line going just 14-22 (64%). The Wildcats turned the ball over 12 times. The Wildcats had a pair of players score double digits Saturday. Khorri Sillcot had 19 points while Casey Sheehan added 13. No other Wildcat had more than 5 points.

The Falcons will be back in action when they return to Murphy Gym for a home tilt vs Malone Tuesday. The Pioneers come in at 13-6 (6-1). Tip time Tuesday is set for 7 PM.

Dummermuth Sets Record, Falcons Fall.

Eric Dummermuth become the leading rebounder in Notre Dame College history but it was not nearly enough as the Falcons fell to top ranked Walsh 83-69.

The native of Dover,OH passed Karim McFarlane into the NDC record books Saturday at Walsh. As he has done since he set foot on the South Euclid campus last season Dummermuth added yet another double-double. The Sophomore had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Taylor Reiger led the Falcons with 18 points in a losing effort. Curtis McClure continued his stellar play of late scoring 16 points. The Falcons shot 43% from the field but just 23% from three point land. The Falcons were just 14-21 at the charity stripe. NDC fell to 6-10 on the season (1-3 AMC) with the loss.

The top ranked Cavaliers improved to 16-0 (5-0 AMC)with yet another solid effort. Four Cavaliers scored in double figures on the day. Ron Kinney led Walsh with 22 points, Lamar Skeeter tallied 21, Eric Schiele chipped in 14 and Kenny Kornowski posted 11 for the hosts. Walsh shot 48% from the floor and 39% from distance. The Cavaliers won the rebounding battle 39-32 and went 13-19 at the foul line.

The Falcons will be back in action Tuesday night when they host Cedarville. The Yellow Jackets come in at 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the AMC. Tip time Tuesday is set for 7:30 PM at Murphy Gym.

Falcons get on the board.

The Notre Dame Falcons did two things they have not done all season long on Wednesday at Wilberforce. NDC won in conference play for the first time in the 2010-11 season and also won a true road game for the first time on the campaign.

Four Falcons scored in double figures on the day as they improved to 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the AMC. Eric Dummermuth scored 23 points to lead the Falcons attack. Nate Ensz scored 17 points and blocked 4 shots. Phil Biggs added his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Rodney Mickens rounded out the Falcon double digit scorers netting 11. The Falcons shot 52.0 percent for the game including a red hot 16-22 (73%) in a second half that saw them outscore the Bulldogs 48-36. The Falcons also had a solid night at the charity stripe where they were 24-30 (80%). They had 18 miscues to go along with 18 assists.

Wilberforce dropped their fifth straight contest and fell to 2-11 on the season. The Bulldogs are now 0-5 in the AMC. The Bulldogs had a trio of players in double figures on the evening. Darius Foster led the way with 22 points. Tremayne Scott posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards. Chris Olafloye chipped in 17 on the night. The Bulldogs shot 36% from the floor on the night (28-77). They could not find the bucket from long range going just 3 of 22. The Bulldogs also struggled from the charity stripe hitting 6-12 (50%). The Bulldogs did win the battle on the glass 41-40. They had 14 turnovers to go along with just 12 assists.

NDC will be back in action Saturday when they face the Cavaliers from Walsh (14-0). Walsh is the defending AMC Champ and was the runner up in the NAIA DII tourney a year ago. Tip time in Canton on Saturday is set for 4 PM.