MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons were able to erase an early double digit deficit on Monday afternoon in an American Mideast Conference tilt against Mount Vernon, but the Cougars held the Falcons off in the second half, as Notre Dame dropped their second conference game of the season, 83-70. (Box)

For the Falcons (4-8, 0-2), the loss was their third in their last four games, dropping their record to 1-5 in December. For the Cougars (7-4, 2-0) the victory was their second in a row, and their first over the Falcons since Jan. 20, 2009.

Notre Dame fell behind early, as the Cougars scored their first six points from the free throw line, and took an early 8-0 lead, three minutes into the contest. At the 9:05-mark, Mount Vernon took their largest lead of the contest (30-16), but the Falcons battled their way back into the contest by responding with a 13-0 run, which was capped by #Taylor Rieger#'s layup with four minutes left in the half to make it a one-point game.

The Falcons trailed, 30-29, but the Cougars outscored the Falcons, 9-4, over the next four minutes to take a 39-33 lead into the locker room at the half. The Falcons hit on 90.9 percent (10-for-11) of their free throws in the first half, and committed just a pair of first half turnovers.

The Falcons caught fire early on in the second, starting the half by going on a 7-0 run and took a 40-39 lead two minutes into the half on #Eric Dummermuth#'s layup. The Cougars answered with a run of their own, scoring 11 of the game's next 13 points, and found themselves ahead, 50-42 on Brandon Short's layup with 14 minutes remaining.

Notre Dame was down 66-55 with nine minutes to go, but pulled within five (66-61) with 5:46 remaining. The Falcon offense went ice cold, as they were rendered scoreless for the next three minutes, and found themselves behind, 71-61, at the 2:49 mark, and they were never able to close the gap.

A trio of Falcons scored in double figures, including Dummermuth, who led all scorers with 27 points, and added 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Rieger contributed with 15 points, four assists and no turnovers, while #Phil Biggs# added 15 points on 66.6 percent (6-for-9) shooting. While the Falcons continued to improve at the free throw line by knocking down 81.0 percent (17-for-21) of their shots from the charity stripe, they really struggled from the field. Notre Dame shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the floor, and just 15.8 percent (3-for-19) from beyond the arc.

"Right now, it really feels like the movie Groundhog Day", said Head Coach #Kevin Bille#.  "Its very frustrating, but everyone involved, players, coaches, etc., we all need to find a way to dig ourselves out of this hole we've gotten ourselves into."

The Cougars had two players in double figures. Adam Grimm led the way for MVNU with 20 points and added six boards, while Robbie Taylor scored 18 points and had three assists. The Cougars shot the ball exceptionally well, hitting on 50.9 percent (27-for-53) of their shots from the floor, including a 53.3 percent (5-for-8) clip from 3-point land.


The Blue & White will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 29, when they square off against Ohio State-Mansfield in the first round of the Comfort Inn Holiday Tournament. The contest is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST:

CATCHING THE COUGARS: The Falcons have faced the Cougars 10 times since 2002. Mount Vernon won the first five meetings in the all-time series, until the Falcons outlasted the Cougars, 102-100, in an overtime contest at Murphy Gymnasium on Feb. 24, 2007. That overtime contest is the only game in the all-time series that has been decided by less than 10 points. Mount Vernon leads the all-time series, 8-2.

TURNING THE CALENDAR: The Falcons have struggled in the month of December over the past three seasons. Since the 2008-09 season, the Falcons are 9-13 in the final month of the calendar year. However, during that same stretch, the Falcons have posted a 6-3 record at Murphy Gymnasium, while going 3-10 on neutral sites and road games. The Falcons have two more games before the start of the new year…in January, NDC is 14-4 over their last two seasons.

THE DUMMERMUTH FILE: The reigning AMC player of the week has put together an excellent start to the season. Entering Monday's contest, Dummermuth ranked third in the country with eight double-doubles. The Dover, Ohio, native also ranks third in the nation with 11.4 RPG, and 12th in the nation with 22.3 PPG.