SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons dropped their sixth consecutive contest at Murphy Gymnasium on Tuesday evening as Mount Vernon caught fire from beyond the arc, and came away with an 92-82 victory over the Falcons. (Box)

For the Falcons (9-16, 4-9), the loss extends their home losing streak to six games, and gives them losses in three out of their last five. For the Cougars (15-11, 8-6) the victory marks their second in a row to remain in the hunt for the final conference playoff spot.

Both teams made strong runs in the first half, as the game remained extremely close through the opening stanza. The Cougars opened the game with a long range 3-pointer giving a foretelling of things to come, taking a 3-0 lead 21 seconds into the contest. Notre Dame responded with three made free-throws by #Nate Ensz# and a basket by #Eric Dummermuth# putting the Falcons up 5-3 just over a minute later.

The Falcons had trouble shooting in the first half, as the Cougars held NDC to 37.5 percent (9-for-22), Mount Vernon caught fire early, shooting 51.6 percent (16-for-31) and 42.9 percent (3-for-7) from behind the 3-point arc. Notre Dame held a 17-13 rebounding advantage, and went to the foul line early and often, hitting 72.7 percent (8-for-11) of their shots from the foul line, and found themselves down 36-29 at the half.

The Cougars remained hot in the second half, and scored 15 of the first 25 points of the second stanza as Robbie Taylor drained four consecutive 3-pointers extending their lead to 12 (51-39) at the 15:31 mark. Notre Dame would respond with a 12-5 run, cutting Mount Vernon's lead to 53-58 with 11:09 remaining when #Eliot Brown# converted the old fashioned 3-point play.

The Cougars would build a 13 point (72-85) lead with 2:26 remaining and hold off a late charge by Notre Dame as they battled Mount Vernon over the game's final 146 seconds. #Curtis McClure#'s put back with 19 seconds remaining would trim MVNU's lead to 10 points as the Falcons dropped the 92-82 decision to the visiting Cougars.

#Eric Dummermuth# and #Curtis McClure# led the Falcons with 17 points. McClure converted 8-for-11 from the field; Dummermuth made 6-for-15 from the field and delivered at the line with 5-for-5 shooting. Dummermuth also pulled down a game high eight rebounds. Notre Dame shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) from the floor, and hit on 79.3 percent (23-for-29) of their free throws.

The Falcons are in action again on Thursday, Feb. 10, when they welcome Cedarville to Murphy Gymnasium.  The opening tip for the AMC tilt is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.