WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. -- The Notre Dame Falcons established a big lead early on in Saturday's contest against Point Park (Pa.), and nailed big free throws down the stretch to score their third consecutive road victory in conference play, with an 88-78 victory over the Pioneers. (Box)

For the Falcons (9-13, 4-6), the victory marks the first time this season that they've won games consecutively, and gives them three victories on the road in conference play. For the Pioneers (11-7, 5-5) the loss gives them three in their last five games, and marks their third loss at home.

Notre Dame took control early on, scoring the first 10 points of the game. NDC was able to get the ball to #Eric Dummermuth# in the low post consistently, as the junior from Dover, Ohio, scored 11 of Notre Dame's first 18 points. After scoring the first 10 points of the game, the Falcons never trailed by any less than four the rest of the way in the opening stanza.

In addition to establishing a strong inside presence against one of the better rebounding teams in the nation, the Falcons were also able to hit a trio of big 3-pointers, getting a pair of those from #Rodney Mickens#. The Falcons went into the locker room at halftime, with a 37-30 advantage. Notre Dame outrebounded the Pioneers, 25-19 in the opening half, and shot 46.9 percent (15-for-32). Defensively, NDC held Point Park in check, holding the Pioneers to just a 31.3 percent (10-for-32) clip from the floor.

The Falcons created more opportunities for themselves offensively in the second half, as they shot the ball extremely well, hitting on 53.1 percent (17-for-32) of their shots in the second stanza and scored 51 points in the final 20 minutes. The Pioneers were able to close the gap to six (41-35) at the 18:11-mark on Jimmy Sherwood's 3-pointer, but never got any closer than that. The Falcons developed a pair of 12 point leads, and were able to seal the deal by sinking their final eight foul shots over the game's final two minutes.

Notre Dame used a spread out scoring attack, led by Dummermuth's 29 points, and he delivered his 15th double-double of the season, by pulling down 13 rebounds. There were three other Falcons in double figures, including #Curtis McClure# who scored 23 points and snagged seven rebounds, while Mickens added 15 points and five assists, and #Nate Ensz# added 12 points to go along with six rebounds. The Falcons shot 50.0 percent (32-for-64) from the floor on the evening, and 73.1 percent (19-for-26) from the free throw line. In addition, the Falcons outrebounded the Pioneers, 44-35.

Houghton had two players score in double figures. Sherwood had 26 second half points, and finished the afternoon with 31 points and seven rebounds. Kris Douse added 19 points and eight rebounds. Douse entered the game as the nation's (NAIA-II) leader in rebounds with 13.6 RPG.

“I'm very proud of our defensive effort tonight,” said Head Coach #Kevin Bille#. “We stuck to our game plan, and played our style of basketball today, to score a huge road victory in conference play.”

The Blue & White will remain on the road for their next contest. The Falcons will face Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) in another AMC tilt, on Thursday, Feb. 3. The contest is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST:

THE OPEN ROAD: Saturday's tilt marked the second game in a stretch of three, in which the Falcons are on the road. Notre Dame will finish the three game road swing against Roberts Wesleyan on Thursday, Feb. 3. After that, the Falcons will play four consecutive games at the friendly confines of Murphy Gymnasium. The Falcons have played pretty well away from home recently, going 4-1 over their last five games away from Murphy Gymnasium, with their only loss coming against No. 1 Walsh, whom they outscored 37-33 in the second half. During that stretch, NDC has shot 50.3 percent (144-for-286) from the floor, 76.1 percent (86-for-113) from the free throw line and they've outscored their opponents by an average of 9.8 PPG.

POINT TAKEN: The Falcons and Highlanders have met 16 times in the all time series, which dates all the way back to 2002. Point Park holds a 12-5 edge in the all-time series, and they won the first six meetings between the two teams. The Falcons are 3-4 at home all time against the Pioneers, and they have beaten Point Park just once on the road in nine tries. Four of the last five meetings have been decided by less than 10 points.

TURN THE PAGE: Saturday's contest marked NDC's final game in the month of January. Last season, Notre Dame was nearly unbeatable in the month of January, posting an 8-1 record in the first month of the calendar year. This season, Notre Dame went 4-4 in January. Since the start of the new year, the Falcons are shooting 47.2 percent from the floor on 217-for-460 shooting, and 72.6 percent (119-for-164) from the charity stripe. They are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 4.4 RPG.