NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- For the last 10 minutes of the first half and the first 10 of the second half, Notre Dame out-hustled and out-played the fourth-ranked team in the nation. But a fast start and a strong finish by the home team won the day, as No. 4 Walsh topped the Falcons, 70-63, in a semifinal game of the American Mideast Conference Qualifying Tournament on Saturday.  (Box)

For Walsh (25-4), the home court win spelled their 14th straight victory this season and their 19th in a row at Alumni Arena. The win sends them to the tournament's championship game on Tuesday, Mar. 3.

The tournament features the six AMC teams that placed second through seventh in the final regular season conference standings. The winner earns an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament (March 11-17, Point Lookout, Mo.); Cedarville earned the AMC's first bid by virtue of the regular season championship.

Freshman forward #Eric Dummermuth# closed out his season in style. The 6-foot-6 Dover, Ohio, native paced Notre Dame (19-12) with 27 points and 14 rebounds. In doing so, Dummermuth ends his season holding the Notre Dame freshman scoring record and the program's single-season rebounding mark. He was 13-of-17 from the floor.

Senior forward #Dan Jones# added 14 points. Junior center #Karim McFarlane# scored 13 points and had eight boards.

“We don't like losing, but to be honest, our guys played great,” said NDC Head Coach #Kevin Bille#. “You have to tip your hat to Walsh.”

Walsh drained their first four attempts from the floor, two of which came in the form of three-balls. That put the home five up, 10-5, by the 16-minute mark. The Cavaliers would open up an 18-11 on an L.J. Sutton basket at the 12-minute mark. Sutton, who came into the game averaging 5.0 points per game, scored eight of Walsh's first 18 points.

NDC then went on a 9-4 run to cut the Cavalier lead to two, 22-20. By the 5:30-minute mark, the Falcons had taken their first lead of the day, 25-24.

Dummermuth scored on a baseline move at 2:58 to put Notre Dame up, 29-26. Freshman forward Nick Foster threw down a two-hand dunk moments later to bring the score to 29-28 and ignite the home crowd. Walsh then hit a trey, which was answered by a Dummermuth jumper to knot the score at 31-31. Walsh would take a 34-31 lead into halftime after a Joe Shardo triple. As a team, the Cavaliers hit five 3-pointers in the first half.

Dummermuth scored 12 points to pace the Falcons in the opening 20 minutes. Joe Shardo scored 14 to lead the Cavaliers, who shot 56.0 percent (14-for-25) from the field in the first.

Notre Dame went on a tear at the outset of the second frame. In the first seven minutes of the half, the Falcons outscored the Cavaliers, 18-10. Pressure defense and Dummermuth's continued inside presence fueled the run.

Walsh regained the lead, 50-49, on a pair of Nick Foster free throws at 10:57. Those free-throw tosses were part of a 16-6 run for the Cavaliers that had them up, 60-55, by the five-minute mark.

WU still led by five at the 1:30 mark. And both teams traded baskets for the next minute of play, which forced the Falcons to foul and hope for missed free throws. Junior guard Brandon Speck hit both ends of a one-and-one at 0:29; that put the Cavaliers in command, 67-60.

Speck hit another free throw, at 0:25, which was answered by a Dan Jones trey. That brought NDC to within five, 68-63. The Falcons would get no closer, and the Cavaliers hit two more free throws to close out the scoring.

The final stat sheet indicated a close game. Notre Dame shot 46.4 percent (26-for-46); Walsh shot 46.3 percent (25-for-54). NDC out-rebounded the Cavaliers, 31-29. The Falcons committed 12 turnovers to WU's nine.

Walsh did outperform the Falcons in a few key areas that made a difference. The Cavaliers went 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range. They outscored NDC, 18-9, in points off turnovers and 14-8 on second-chance points.

Joe Shardo scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Shardo's brother, Jeremy, garnered nine assists in the game. Overall, the balanced Walsh offense had four scorers post double digits.

For Notre Dame, Dummermuth's performance ends his freshman campaign on a high note. The former All-Ohio selection in high school ends the 2008-09 with 538 points and 287 rebounds. Those figures represent new NDC bests for freshman scoring and for rebounds in a single season.

The tournament loss closes out Notre Dame's season with the Falcons posting a program-best 19-12 mark. “This has been a good season for us,” said Kevin Bille, who has now led NDC to three straight postseason appearances. “We have a young team. Our kids gained some invaluable experience in some tough road games, including this one today. We'll look to add some pieces and be back next year; we want to keep progressing as a program.”


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

THE GRUELING CAVALIERS: With their loss in North Canton on Saturday, Notre Dame is now 0-5 all-time against the Cavaliers. NDC is 0-4 in North Canton, which was also the site of one previous postseason meeting between the two northeast Ohio programs (a 78-61 win for Walsh on Feb. 27, 2007). … With their victory over Notre Dame ran their home record this season to 13-0. The Cavaliers are 64-6 (.914) at home over the last four years.

DANDY ONE LAST TIME: Senior forward Dan Jones scored 14 points and dished out three assists in what was his final collegiate game Saturday. That performance caps off an incredible six-week run for the Niles, Ohio, product. In that stretch, since Jan. 13 (13 games), Jones has led the team in scoring (16.6 points per game), assists (2.7), and steals (1.6), all while shooting a red-hot 55.0 percent (77-for-140). … For the season, Jones averaged 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. In his two-year career on College Road, he scored 620 points and shot 49.3 percent (215-for-436) from the field, 39.6 percent (44-for-111) from 3-point range, and 78.9 percent (146-for-185) from the free-throw line.