WINONA LAKE, Ind. – A late run by a resilient Falcon squad fueled a come-from-behind victory over a ranked opponent Friday, as Notre Dame topped No. 25 Grace, 69-68. After being behind for much of the game, and by as many as 12 points, NDC went on a 20-9 run over the final 6:42 of the game to pull off the road upset.

Freshman forward #Eric Dummermuth# scored 17 points and hauled down nine rebounds to lead Notre Dame, which is now off to the best nine-game start (8-1) in its history.

Grace (8-4) led 37-31 at halftime on their home court in what was day-one of the College's Optimist Tournament. Notre Dame got out of the blocks early to open up 13-5 lead. After a Lancer timeout, Grace took command with a 19-2 run. That would give Grace control of the game until the Falcons wrested it away from them in the final ticks of the second half.

In the second half, Grace doubled their halftime lead to 12 points. The Lancers led by 10, 59-49, at the 6:42 mark, and that's when the Falcons utilized a combination of forced turnovers and trips to the free throw line to close out the game with a 20-9 run.

NDC's win marked their first over a ranked team since Feb. 7, 2007, and it comes against a Grace program that has been dominant on their home floor. The Lancers came into Friday night's tilt at Kessler Court with a 4-1 home record in 2008-09, with their only loss being to second-ranked Bethel-Ind. (Nov. 25). In fact, the Lancers came into the game with the Falcons having won 28 or their last 37 at home.

“This was a huge win for our program,” said NDC head coach #Kevin Bille#. “This is probably the biggest road win we've ever had. Grace has a very good team, and this is a great building to play in and a well-run tournament.”

For the game, the Falcons won despite shooting 41.0 percent (25-for-61), their second-lowest figure of the season. Besides Dummermuth's 17 points, the NDC offense was bolstered by freshman guard #Nick McCartney#'s 15 and junior center #Karim McFarlane#'s 14. McCartney was 4-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Notre Dame continued their season success at the foul line, which was a key factor in the road upset of the ranked lancers. NDC made 13 of 15 attempts (86.7 percent). For the sixth time in nine games, NDC made more baskets at the charity stripe (13) than their opponents attempted (10). For the season, the Falcons are getting to the line 22.4 times per game, and they're shooting 73.3 percent (148-for-202).