Falcons Pass First Road Test!

The Notre Dame Falcons men's basketball team (3-0) played their first road game of the 2009 season Tuesday. They opened conference play with a 77-64 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene(2-2) on Tuesday night. Eric Dummermuth continued his stellar early season with a second consecutive 23 point performance for Notre Dame. Dummermuth was 9 of 12 from the floor. Three other Falcons scored in double figures. Curtis Mclure (13), Nick McCartney (12) and Al Miller (11) paced the "blue and white" to a third consecutive win to start the season. The Falcons (55 percent) from the field continued their hot early season shooting. Notre Dame was 6 of 18 from distance. A suspect 15 of 29 (51 percent) from the charity stripe is something Kevin Bille and his staff will have to work on the rest of the season.

The Cougars who led at the half, shot a frigid 8 of 31 (26 percent) in the second half. Three Nazarene players scored in double figures. Bryce Sandborn paced the Cougars with a monster game of 19 points to go along with 22 rebounds. Adam Grimm and Brandon Short notched ten points apiece for Mount Vernon. The Cougars shot 33 percent from the floor and were a frigid 3 for 20 (15 percent) from three point land. Mount Vernon Nazarene was 17 of 23 (74 percent) from the foul line. The Cougars won the battle of the boards 41-37. Each team committed 16 turnovers. The big difference though was the Falcons converted the Cougars 16 turnovers into 25 points while Notre Dame's 16 turnovers only cost them 10 points. The "blue and white" were also plus 11 on points in the paint as well as second chance points. All these variables led to the Falcons pushing their record to a perfect 3-0. Notre Dame will be back in action Friday when they battle Emory & Henry (Va). Tip time is set for 6 PM.