Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame saw a 13-point first-half lead evaporate, as the visiting Urbana Blue Knights downed the Falcons, 78-63, on Wednesday. (Box)

For Notre Dame (4-9), the game at Murphy Gymnasium marked the team's first home tilt since Dec. 18.  With Wednesday's loss, NDC is now 2-3 at home this season.  

With the win, Urbana (4-9) snapped a three-game losing streak of their own, and in doing so they extended what is now a season-worst five-game losing streak for the Falcons.

The Falcons let a 13-point lead slip away in the first half, with Urbana closing out the opening 20 on a 29-11 run.  The Blue Knights shot 50.0 percent (16-of-32) from the floor in the first despite struggles early in the frame.  The visiting five went into halftime with a five-point lead, 41-36.

The Falcons shot the ball extremely well early on, hitting five of their first six 3-pointers, and found themselves ahead by as many as 13 (25-12) at the 10:49-mark after a Raphi Tekie 3-ball. 

The aforementioned 3-pointer from Tekie would prove to be the last shot the Falcons hit from beyond the arc on the night, as they went 0-for-9 from 3-point land the rest of the way.

In the second half, the Blue Knights extended their lead to 15 by the 14-minute mark.  NDC made just five of its first 18 shot attempts in the half, as Urbana pulled away for the road win in the first meeting between the two programs since 2007.

"It's embarassing for us right now, and its our job as a program to do something about it," said Head Coach Kevin Bille.  "I'm confident in our players, and I believe they will do something about it, and turn this around."

In a losing effort, NDC freshman Marcquice Taylor led all scorers with 23 points on the night.  That total matches a season high for the first year Falcon from Columbus, Ohio, matching his 23 point performance in NDC's 71-68 loss to Salem International (W.Va.) back on Jan. 7.  Taylor's high school teammate, Kalomo Figueroa-Jackson was the only other Falcon to score in double figures, adding 10 points on the night.  Nate Ensz added 10 rebounds.

Notre Dame shot 42.4-percent (25-for-59) from the floor on the night, hitting on just 33.3-percent (5-for-15) of their 3-pointers, and went 8-for-12 (66.7-percent) from the free throw line.  In addition, NDC was outrebounded by the Blue Knights, 41-32. 

Urbana senior Sharif Muahmmed was a thorn in NDC's side all evening long, as he turned in a double-double, with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Urbana's senior point guard, Marcus Pearl added 11 points. 

Notre Dame will return to action on Saturday when the Falcons travel to Cedarville, Ohio, to take on the Cedarville Yellow Jackets. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. 

NOTES FROM THE NEST ...

BUCKEYE STATE BATTLE: Wednesday night's contest against the Blue Knights marked the fifth time this season that the Falcons have played a school from Ohio.  NDC has a record 1-4 against Ohio institutions this season.  While the Falcons have played a majority of their games against teams outside the borders of the Buckeye state to this point, NDC does not have another game scheduled against a non-Ohio opponent for the rest of the season.

STEAL CITY: The Falcons are averaging 6.8 steals per game this season, which is the fourth highest average in program history.  Currently, Troy Baugh leads the Falcons with 25 steals on the year, and three other Falcons (Rieger, Biggs, Taylor) have registered double digit steals as well. 

500 CLUB: NDC senior Phil Biggs became the fourth player in program history to notch 500 rebounds.  Through Wednesday, the Byesville, Ohio, native, has collected 507 rebounds in his four years on College road.  Only three other players in NDC history have pulled down more rebounds than Biggs.