MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – Notre Dame had their five-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night at the hands of the Mount Vernon Cougars. The Falcons' recent hot shooting cooled, as MVNU prevailed, 80-67. (Box)

The loss is Notre Dame's first since Dec. 30 and is their first this season in American Mideast Conference (AMC) play. Senior forward #Dan Jones# led the NDC effort with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Ben Falkenberg (17 points) and Jadin Thomas (16 points, six rebounds) paced the Cougars (13-7, 3-3) who snapped a two-game losing streak with the home court victory.

Notre Dame (15-6, 4-1) shot 42.9 percent (27-for-63) in the game, after having shot nearly 56 percent over their previous four contests.

In the opening half, the Cougars built a seven-point advantage by 11:37, after back-to-back 3-pointers by Travis Brown and Falkenberg. Over the next four minutes of game play, Notre Dame went 0-for-6 from the floor, committing three turnovers. The end of that stretch saw MVNU with a 15-point lead.

Pressure defense by the Falcons put them on the offensive as the first half drew to a close; NDC outscored the Cougars, 14-6, over the last seven minutes to cut the MVNU lead to 38-31 by halftime. The Falcon defense limited Mount Vernon to 3-of-11 shooting over that stretch.

In the second stanza, the Cougars built their advantage back to double digits (47-35) by the 15:50-mark.

NDC would go on a 10-4 run through the middle minutes of the half, cutting the Cougar lead to seven. But the conference's top 3-point shooting squad answered from long range to quickly quell the NDC mini-rally. Mount Vernon hit four treys after the NDC run and they then converted foul shots to maintain a comfortable lead and close out the eventual 13-point victory, 80-67.

For the game, MVNU shot 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from beyond the arc. The Cougars came into the game ranked first in the AMC and sixth in the nation in 3-pointers per game (9.4).

“They have a senior-laden team,” said NDC head coach Kevin Bille. “Tonight, we didn't do the little things well at times. And Mount Vernon and their veteran players capitalized on our mistakes every time.”

For the 40 minutes, Mount Vernon was a plus-seven (16-9) in turnovers. The Cougars outscored the Falcons, 19-8, on those miscues.

Another telling stat in the game's final box score was free throw shooting. In a rare instance this season, NDC was outscored at the charity stripe, 14-8. The Cougars got to the line 21 times, to Notre Dame's 13. In the Falcons' three previous games, they had gotten to the line 99 times, to their opponents' 30, and for the season the Blue & White hold a 337-182 edge in free throws made.

“When that happens and when you're playing in a tough venue on the road in this league, you're going to be hard-pressed to come out with a victory,” said Bille. “Still, with a young team, we need to learn from this atmosphere and this type of game. We have a difficult schedule down the stretch.”

Freshman forward #Eric Dummermuth# scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Falcon loss. Junior center #Karim McFarlane# added 15 and nine.

The loss for NDC runs their all-time record against MVNU to 1-7. They are now 0-6 in Mount Vernon's P.E. Center. It also marks Notre Dame's first loss in the month of January since Jan. 3, 2008. Since that loss, the Falcons had gone 10-0 in the calendar's first month.

Also, the Falcons came into the game as the fourth-ranked defense in the AMC, yielding fewer than 65 points per game. MVNU's 80 points mark the first time an NDC opponent has had that many since Dec. 20, a string of eight games.

Notre Dame will close out this week's two-game AMC road trip on Saturday, Jan. 24, with a trip to West Mifflin, Pa., to take on Point Park. The opening tip between the Falcons and Pioneers is scheduled for 4 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

MAKING HIS POINT IN THE PIVOT: Karim McFarlane reached a career milestone at Mount Vernon on Tuesday. McFarlane scored 16 points in the game, putting him over 1,000 for his career. McFarlane reached the milestone in his 82nd career game. He is the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. … Over his two-plus years on College Road, the Falcons' 6-foot-7 pivot man is averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He is the program's all-time leader in blocked shots (184), and he ranks second in total rebounds (574). … McFarlane's milestone game comes on the heels of his career-best single-game scoring performance, a 26-point effort against Ohio Dominican on Saturday (Jan. 17).

RATE INCREASE: Notre Dame's vote total in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Poll climbed by 59. The Jan. 19 issue of the poll ranked the Falcons as the top team receiving votes but not in the Top-25. NDC will have a shot to prove how vote-worthy they are over the final month of the regular season – they are scheduled to play Cedarville, Daemen (N.Y.), and Walsh, all three of which are ranked in the Top-25. … Notre Dame is 1-0 against teams currently ranked in the nation's Top-25; they defeated Grace (Ind.), 69-68, back on Dec. 12.

DUMMERMUTH HONORED: On Tuesday, the AMC announced that Eric Dummermuth was named the league's Player of the Week for games of Jan. 12-18. The freshman forward averaged 21.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game over a pair of NDC wins on the week. The award marks the second time this season Dummermuth has been honored by the conference – he was also named AMC Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 29. In winning the AMC Player of the Week for a second time, Dummermuth joins Jerome Pierce (2004-08) as the only Falcon to be a two-time honoree in a single season. Pierce was twice named the Player of the Week in the 2005-06 season. … For the season, the Falcons' 6-foot-6 newcomer from Dover, Ohio, is averaging 18.5 points and 9.4 boards per game.