SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Cedarville's Derrick Hannon drained a spinner in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining to pull the Yellow Jackets back from a late four-point deficit, as Cedarville topped Notre Dame, 74-73, in Tuesday's finale of the American Mideast Conference Qualifying Tournament. (Box)

The loss likely ends Notre Dame's season, with the Falcons coming up one game short of making the 32-team NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament. NDC's season record is now 19-12.

With their victory, No. 14 Cedarville (25-8) earns the AMC's second automatic bid to the national tournament, joining league champ and national No. 1, Walsh. The tournament will be held in Point Lookout, Mo., March 10-16.

“What a great game,” said Head Coach #Kevin Bille#, noting the efforts of both teams. “Cedarville is a talented team. They're deep and that was a factor. On our side, I am very proud of our guys. They just left it all out there on the floor and played their hearts out.”

Both teams were in sync in the game's early minutes, with baskets falling at both ends of the court. After falling behind, 12-4, Notre Dame fought back to get within one (20-19) by the 13-minute mark. Cedarville went 10-for-15 to start the game, while NDC went 7-for-11.

After the Falcons got to within one, Cedarville started to gradually put some cushion in their lead. Shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and getting 12 points from freshman guard Austin Foote, Cedarville took a 41-35 lead into halftime.

By the midpoint of the second, the Yellow Jackets essentially had managed to maintain that advantage; they led, 61-54.

The Falcons then went on a 7-0 run which was capped off by a game-tying #Al Miller# trey at 5:42. Cedarville countered with three straight baskets to take a 67-61 lead by 4:05.

A three-point play by #Eric Dummermuth# got Notre Dame back within one (67-66) and a Miller layup at 2:08 gave NDC the lead (68-67). Thirty seconds later Miller hit a three-ball from the top of the key to put the Falcons up by four.

On the next possession, Cedarville turned the ball over. That gave NDC the ball with a four-point lead and 1:14 on the clock.

Fifty seconds later, after an equal exchange of four points, senior Chris Beals hit a trey with a hand in his face to cut the Falcons' lead to one (73-72). After #Nick McCartney# missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds on the clock, CU's Derrick Hannon raced down the court, spun between defenders to the right of the lane and put up a runner that caromed in, giving the Yellow Jackets the lead.

After an NDC timeout, a long attempt by Al Miller failed to reach the rim, and with it, the Falcons failed to reach Missouri by the slimmest of margins.

Miller finished the game with 10 points and was one of four Falcons to post double figures in the scoring column. Eric Dummermuth scored a team-high 17 and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. #Karim McFarlane# and Nick McCartney each garnered 15 points. Notre Dame shot 52.9 percent (27-for-51) from the field.

In a game that was as even statistically as it was on the Murphy Gymnasium scoreboard, Cedarville also had four players notch double figures. Austin Foote led the way with 17.

Cedarville went 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets came into the game as the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the nation (39.0 percent).


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

MARCH SADNESS: Tuesday's game marked the first in the month of March for Notre Dame's program, which was instituted in 2001. … While playing past mid-February - the traditional end of the NAIA regular season - is a good sign for the program, the Falcons have struggled the last two years in late-season games. NDC was 33-14 (.702) in November-through-January games in the last two years. They went 5-10 in games after Jan. 30.

STINGING SENSATION: With Tuesday night's win in South Euclid, Cedarville is now 5-0 in five all-time meetings with Notre Dame. The Yellow Jackets are 3-0 at Murphy Gymnasium.

FINAL TALLY: With 17 points and 10 boards, Eric Dummermuth finished the season with 681 points and 336 rebounds. Both are new single-season bests in program history. … Nick McCartney had five assists in the game. He now has 200 for his career. … NDC's 2009-10 record matches the 19-12 mark earned last year. Over the last four years (2006-10), Kevin Bille's Falcons have a 71-53 (.573).