NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- #Eric Dummermuth# and #Nick McCartney# combined to score 56 points, and Notre Dame tallied 55 second-half points, as the Falcons defeated Emory & Henry (Va.), 92-71, on Friday. (Box)

Dummermuth tallied game-highs in points and rebounds, with a 32-15 night. McCartney added a season-high 24 points on a night when NDC remained perfect on the young season - the Falcons are now 4-0.

Dummermuth's 32 points mark a new career-high.

“Eric worked especially hard in the second half tonight,” said Head Coach #Kevin Bille#. “He ran the floor well and posted strong. The guys did a great job finding him, and he finished.”

The win over Emory & Henry (1-1) took place in the first of two games for the Falcons in the Buzz Ridl Classic hosted by Westminster College. Notre Dame will face Westminster Saturday at 4 p.m.

The opening half was played evenly through the early minutes. When Dummermuth hit a jumper at 11:15, Notre Dame held a 14-12 lead. That lead evaporated quickly, however, when Emory & Henry went on a 10-0 run to take a 22-14 lead.

NDC then countered with the inside-outside combination of #Karim McFarlane# and Nick McCartney. Both hit key baskets to get the Falcons back to a two-point deficit (24-22) by the 7:44 mark. McCartney would finish with 17 points in the opening frame. The Blue & White closed out the final 4:39 of the half with a 13-6 run and went into halftime with a 37-33 lead.

As much as the first half was all-McCartney, the second was all-Dummermuth. Notre Dame scored the first six points of the second stanza to up their lead to 10 (47-37), and the Falcon offense took off here. The Wasps would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Eric Dummermuth was dominant in the second, scoring from the field and drawing contact to get to the free-throw line. The 6-foot-6 forward was a key part of the Falcons turning an 8-to-10 point lead into the eventual blowout margin of victory.

With 8:50 remaining in the game, NDC led by eight (64-56). With Dummermuth collapsing the E & H defense, the Notre Dame offense exploded. Six different players scored in a 26-7 run that put NDC up, 90-63, by the 2:28 mark.

Dummermuth garnered 26 points in the second after scoring just six in the first. He and McCartney both figured prominently in the falcons have a big advantage at the foul line. NDC made 29-of-34 (85.3 percent) from the stripe, with Dummermuth going 12-for-12 and McCartney going 6-for-6.

From the field, Notre Dame shot 53.3 (16-for-30) in the second half and 50.9 percent (29-for-57) for the game. Dummermuth's 15 boards spearheaded a strong rebounding game for the Falcons, who out-boarded the Wasps, 44-28. McCartney paced the NDC defense, making five steals on the night.

Terrence Grigg led the Wasps in scoring Friday; he had 16 points.

Emory & Henry attempted 32 treys in the game, making eight. For the 40 minutes, the Wasps shot 36.8 percent (25-for-68) from the floor. In their first four games this season, Notre Dame has limited foes to a 35.7 percent (87-for-244) mark from the field.

“Our team is really buying into what we're trying to do defensively,” said Bille. “They understand that if we want to accomplish our goals this season, we need to commit to playing strong defense.”


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

RIDL ME THIS: The Buzz Ridl Classic honors the head coach of Westminster College's 1959-60 NAIA national finalist team. The 2009 tournament is the 18th renewal of the Classic. This year's Saturday finale (Notre Dame vs. Westminster) will feature a 50th-year reunion of the 1959-60 Westminster team at halftime.

STINGING SENSATION: Emory & Henry College is located in Emory, Va. The College has an enrollment of 1,000, and the Wasps compete in 14 sports as an NCAA-III institution. In men's hoops, the Wasps went 8-17 a year ago. In recent years the program has been widely known for a fast-paced, run-and-gun style of play - in 2008-09, E & H averaged 105.8 points per game, while yielding 114.7.

DR. DOOM: With his career-high 32 points on Friday, Eric Dummermuth has now scored 104 points in four games (26.0 PPG) this season. The Falcons' top scorer has now tallied 642 points in 35 games (18.3 PG) at NDC. With his 32 against EHC, he moved past Dan Jones and Niles Wadley and into sixth-place on the program's all-time leading scorers list.