Dust Devils Hold Off Falcons.

The Notre Dame College Falcons (4-6) lost for the second straight game, this time 84-76 to the Dust Devils of Texas A&M International (9-3). NDC jumped out to an 18-7 lead in the early going after a Phil Biggs 3-pointer and a traditional 3-point play by Marcquice Taylor. The Dust Devils would go on 10-0 run and tie the game at 21 on a Scott Payne lay up with 9:21 to go in the opening half. The rest of the half would be played fairly evenly and it would be 40-37 TAMIU at the half. The Dust Devils would bust it open and lead by as many as 23 (78-55) late.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well in this one. NDC shot 55 percent to 54 percent for TAMIU. The Falcons were 7-13 (54 percent) from the 3-point line while the Dust Devils went 8-24 (33 percent) from the 3-point line. As it has been all season foul shooting made a huge difference. NDC shot 13-24 (54 percent) at the foul line while TAMIU shot 89 percent (16-18). The Dust Devils won on the boards 29-28. Assists were 21-15 in favor of the Dust Devils. The Falcons had 15 turnovers to 13 for the Dust Devils.

Phil Biggs led NDC with 20 points, while Marcquice Taylor had 18, Kaloma Fuguero-Jackson added 10. The Falcons will look to bounce back Saturday night when they face Saint Edwards University.

The Dust Devils had four players tally double figures Friday. Ryan McLucas leads the way with 18 points, while Scottie Payne added 14. Joe Reid (13) and Evan Matteson (12) rounded out the double digit scorers. The Dust Devils will battle Cedarville on Saturday.

Win Streak Snapped.

The Notre Dame Falcons (4-5) saw it's season high three game win streak snapped despite a furious rally late. The Falcons fell 69-65 to the Thunderbirds of Algoma (Canda) in the second day of the NDC Comfort Inn Holiday Classic.

The Thunderbirds (7-3) were led by three players in double figures. Carnakie Reynaldo paced Algoma with 21 points, while Dele Oworu chipped in 13, and Aaron Jackson netted 11. The Thunderbirds shot 43 percent from the floor and made 7 of 20 from the 3-point line. They struggled at the foul line, going 16 of 28 (57 percent). They had 18 turnovers to go along with 12 assists.

The Falcons had four players tally double figures on the day. Phil Biggs led the way with 17 points, while Marcquice Taylor chipped in 14. Kaloma Figueroa-Jackson added 12, while Troy Baugh rounded out the double digit scorers with 11. The Falcons shot 36 percent from the field and just went 3-20 from the 3-point line. The Falcons shot 14-20 (70 percent) at the foul line. NDC had 11 assists and 17 turnovers. The rebounding battle was even at 42 despite the Falcons still being without leading rebounder Eric Dummermuth. Nate Ensz did return and grab six rebounds.

Neither team shot well in the opening half. NDC shot 28 percent (8 for 29), while Algoma shot just 34 percent (11 of 32). It was Algoma who jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the first seven plus minutes. NDC would battle back and cut the lead to one (23-22) with 5:15 in the opening half. Algoma stretched that lead to nine (35-26) at the half.

The Thunderbirds came out in the second half and would stretch the lead to 16 (44-28) in the first eight plus minutes of half number two. NDC would once again battle back and go on a 7-0 run, with a Phil Biggs jumper they would be within three (54-51.) THe Thunderbirds looked to put the game alway with a 67-56 lead with 1:53 to go but the Falcons were not done. After a Taylor three with 27 seconds to go capped off a 7-0 run the Falcons were only down 67-63. Jovain Wilson made two free throws to put it away for the Thunderbirds with eight seconds left.

The Falcons will be back in action on December 30th when they will travel to Laredo,Texas and take on Texas A&M International. Tip time is 9 PM.

Falcons Roll Past Mavericks.

The Notre Dame Falcons (4-4) rolled to a 92-57 win over OSU-Mansfield in the first day of the NDC Comfort Inn Holiday Tournament Saturday.

The 92 points NDC scored were a season high. They were paced by 14 points from Taylor Rieger. Marcquice Taylor added 13, Troy Baugh had 11 and Phil Biggs netted 10. Biggs played in his 100th game as a member of the Falcons Saturday. The Falcons shot 45 percent from the field and went 6-24 (25 percent) from the 3-point line. NDC shot 75 percent (12-18) at the foul line. The Falcons won the rebounding battle 42-36 and had 11 turnovers.

The Mavericks (3-12) only dressed six players, but three scored in double figures. Todd Ferguson led the Mavericks with 19 points, Evan Mills had 13, and Geoffery Taylor netted 12 in the loss. OSUM shot 31 percent from the field and went 3-17 from the 3-point line. The Mavericks shot 71 percent from the foul line, while they had just 3 assists as a team to go along with 15 turnovers.

The first half belonged to the Falcons as they would jump out to an 11-2 lead in the early going. The Falcons would shoot 51 percent in the opening half and have a commanding 55-23 lead at the break. Taylor Reiger scored 12 of his 14 points in the opening half. The second half saw the Falcons stretch the lead to 40 points with 11:50 to go. The Falcons would cruise to the easy win. NDC will be back in action Sunday when they battle Algoma in day two of the NDC Comfort Inn Holiday Classic. TIp time is set for 4 PM.

Twice As Nice!

The Notre Dame Falcons (3-4) used a three pointer by Brennan Osborne that broke a 67-67 tie to win for the second straight time and complete a series sweep of Houghton.

The Falcons won back to back games for the first time this season when Osborne drained the three to knock off the Highlanders (4-5) 70-68. Three Falcons players scored in double figures in the big win in Rochester. Marcquice Taylor led a pair of NDC players with 16 points, while Phil Biggs also added 16 to go along with 11 rebounds. Raphi Tekie contributed 12 points to round out the double digit scorers for the Falcons. The Falcons shot 47 percent from the field and hit 8 0f 20 (40 percent) from the three point line. NDC heated up from long range in the second half when they went 4 of 6, including Osborne's game winner. The Falcons were a very respectable 73 percent (8-11) at the foul line. NDC also did a good job taking care of the basketball turning it over ten times.

The Highlanders had a brief two game win streak snapped. Mike Munoz had a monster game for Houghton, scoring 26 points to go along with 21 rebounds. Matthew Dean added 14, while Chris Confair netted 12 for the Highlanders. Houghton shot 45 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line. The Highlanders could not convert at the foul line going 9-17 (53 percent). The hosts also had 10 turnovers. Each team gathered 34 rebounds.

The first half was a see-saw affair with three lead changes and six ties. The game was knotted at 34 at halftime. NDC built a 14 point lead (59-45) with 10:34 to go after Kaloma Fiegeroa-Jackson drained a pair of free throws. Matthew Dean drained a three to cut the lead to 67-66 with 1:34 to go and cap a 17-4 Highlanders run. Mark O'Brien then split a pair of free throws before Osborne's big three put NDC up to stay. After a NDC foul, Andrew Makori would have to make the first (which he did)and miss the second intentionally and get a tip in. Fittingly it was Osborne who came up with the rebound to seal it.

NDC will be back in action Saturday when they face the Mavericks of OSU-Mansfield in the NDC Comfort Inn Classic. Tip time is set for 4 PM at Murphy Gymnasium.

Falcons Snap Slide!

The Notre Dame Falcons (2-4) snapped a four game losing streak with a 65-62 win over Roberts Wesleyan at the Voller Athletic Center in Rochester,NY Friday. The Falcons used a solid night at the foul line to get the win. NDC who has struggled all season at the line went 13-14 (93 percent) on this night. Four Falcons scored in double figures in this one. They were led by Phil Biggs who poured in 17 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Marcquice Taylor added 15, while Brennan Osborne and Raphi Tekie had 10 points each. The Falcons shot 43 percent from the field and 32 percent from the three point line.

The Raiders fell to 4-8 on the season with the loss. Roberts Wesleyan was led by three players in double figures. William Kemp-Harris led the way with 15 points for the Raiders. Patrick Downer and Alif Bland netted 14 each for the hosts. Bland also added 12 rebounds for Wesleyan. The Raiders shot 42 percent from the field and 29 percent from three point land. The Raiders struggled at the line going 5-9 (56 percent). The Raiders won the battle of the boards 37-31.

The Falcons will be back in action Saturday when they take on Houghton. Tip time is set for 2 PM.

Findlay Too much for Short-Handed Falcons.

The Notre Dame Falcons (1-4) would have had enough trouble with the Findlay Oilers (6-1) at full strength but they were not Saturday. The Falcons were still without Eric Dummermuth and Nate Ensz in the loss. It was the fourth straight loss for NDC.

The 13th ranked Oilers won there fifth straight. Findlay jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the contest. The Falcons hung tough early and trailed 14-10 with 12:52 in the opening half. The Oilers then blew the game open with a 17-3 run that made it 31-13 for the hosts. Another late run in the first half (14-2 this time) made it 49-26 Oilers at the break. The Oilers shot 56.4 percent in the opening half and clobbered the Falcons on the boards 22-11. Phil Biggs led NDC with 10 of his 14 points in the opening half.

Just when you thought the Oilers could not shoot it any better they did in the second half. Findlay shot 69 percent in the second half. 22 was as close as the Falcons would get in the second half. It was 40-20 on the boards in favor of the Oilers. Findlay had 30 assists and 15 turnovers.

Troy Baugh and Marcquice Taylor each tallied eight points for NDC. NDC shot 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from the three point line. The Falcons continued to struggle at the foul line shooting 60 percent (9-15).

Findlay was paced by four players in double figures, and thirteen players who had at least one assist. Kyle Calola paced the Oilers with 15 points, Greg Khalig and Jake Heagen netted 14 each. Jack Smith netted 11 to round out the double digit scorers.

NDC will be back in action Friday when they travel to Rochester,New York to battle Roberts Wesleyan. Tip time is set for 7 PM.