SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The No. 4-ranked Cedarville Yellow Jackets played a solid floor game and stifled the Notre Dame offense in a 64-53 victory at Murphy Gymnasium on Saturday. With the win in a hard-fought American Mideast Conference game dominated by defense, Cedarville picked up its 24th win of the season.  (Box)

Senior guard #Dan Jones# paced Notre Dame with 12 points, five boards, and four assists. The Falcons have now lost four of their last five. Their home record falls to 10-4. Cedarville runs their road mark to 10-1.

Notre Dame (16-9, 5-4) went toe-to-toe with the ranked Yellow Jackets early on in the game, trailing 7-6 through the first six minutes of the game. When sophomore guard #Eric Maag# nailed a three from atop the key at 9:50, he pulled the Falcons into a 14-14 tie. A minute later, at 8:44 Maag found a cutting #Eric Dummermuth# on a fast break to give NDC a 16-14 advantage. A #Steve Savel# bucket at 7:40 put Notre Dame up four, 18-14.

The Yellow Jackets then answered. A three-ball by sophomore guard Matt Harner at 4:45 capped off a 9-2 run for Cedarville (24-3, 9-1); at that point, they led 23-20. CU held on to take a one-point advantage (25-24) into halftime despite NDC shooting just 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from the floor.

Both sides traded baskets in the early minutes of the second half. A fast break layup by Dan Jones at 15:30 knotted the score at 32-32. CU then went on an 8-2 run to take a 40-34 lead by the 13-minute mark. Strong inside defense by senior center Daniel Rose keyed the Yellow Jacket spurt. Rose blocked two shots in that run and altered two more. The 6-foot-10 pivot man finished the game with 11 points and 11 blocked shots.

A Rose slam at 8:10 gave Cedarville a 45-38 lead. By the five-minute mark, they would extend that lead to 11 points (53-42). A swarming Yellow Jacket defense continued to hold the NDC offense to a shooting mark in the low 30s as the second half wore on.

Notre Dame cut the CU lead to eight (56-48) when Eric Maag hit a trey at 2:14. Maag hit another with 46 seconds remaining to bring the Falcons within seven (58-51). That's as close as Notre Dame would get the rest of the way, as Cedarville knocked down their free throws late. Maag finished the game with nine points on a trio of 3-pointers.

For the game, Notre Dame shot 35.0 percent (21-for-60). Cedarville countered with a 39.2 percent mark (20-for-51). The Yellow Jackets went 18 for 24 (75.0 percent) at the foul line. CU out-rebounded NDC, 39-37. The Falcons won the turnover battle, 15-12.

Jones scored his 12 on 6-of-11 shooting. Junior center #Karim McFarlane# also tallied 12 points in the game. Eric Dummermuth added 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Matt Harner led Cedarville with 15 points. Junior guard Chris Beals added 11 points and a game-high five assists.

With their loss Saturday, Notre Dame falls to 2-1 against ranked teams this season. The Falcons will likely play a fourth ranked squad in a week, when they travel to North Canton, Ohio, to take on Walsh. The Cavaliers are currently ranked No. 5 in the nation.

Notre Dame's next game is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 11, when the Falcons host the Bulldogs of Wilberforce University in an 8 p.m. tip. That game is a rescheduled date from a Feb. 5 postponement.


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

FULL YELLOW JACKET: Cedarville arrived on College Road Saturday as the No. 4 team in the nation and just five days removed from a week's tenure as the No. 1 team in the country. The Yellow Jackets had won 15 of their previous 17 games. Saturday marked Cedarville's second trip to South Euclid this season and their third win on College Road in 2008-09 – the Yellow Jackets competed in the Falcons' NDC Holiday Classic on Dec. 29-30. They defeated a pair of Canadian foes, Windsor and Algoma. … With their win Saturday, CU is now 3-0 all-time against Notre Dame.

SWAT TEAM: Notre Dame had 14 shots blocked by the Yellow Jackets. That mark, and Daniel Rose's 11 individually, are new single-game records by an opponent against NDC. The blocked shots are nothing new for Cedarville or Rose; the Yellow Jackets came into the game ranked second in the AMC in blocks; Rose ranks first in the league individually, with 72. … At the other end of the floor Karim McFarlane blocked three shots. He has 42 this season to lead the team.

SEVEN FOR THE SENIOR: Dan Jones and senior guard #Jeff Johnson# were honored pregame Saturday as the NDC Men's Basketball program honored its two senior players. Jones responded with his seventh straight double-digit game in the scoring column. In that stretch, the 6-foot-3 Niles, Ohio, product is shooting 59.7 percent (37-for-62) from the field.