Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame closed out its 2011-12 home season in style with a resounding 86-72 victory over Ohio Dominican on Wednesday at Murphy Gymnasium.

The Falcons peppered the Panthers with numerous one-sided scoring runs in improving their College Road record to 7-5.  NDC shot a red-hot 59.0 percent (36-of-61) from the field in a game it controlled from the outset.  The win for Notre Dame (10-15) marked its third straight at home.

Junior center Nathan Ensz notched his second straight double-double with a dominant 21-point, 12-rebound performance in a game that marked the Falcons' fourth win in their last five games.  Freshman guard Lawrence DeArmond added 17 points.  Overall, the home five had four players finish in double figures.

For Ohio Dominican (3-22) the loss continued what has been an “0-for-2012” stretch for the downtrodden Panthers.  ODU hasn't won a game since Dec. 30 -- a stretch of 14 straight losses.

The game got underway with freshman guard Lawrence DeArmond scoring buckets on Notre Dame's first three possessions.  That spurt fed into an overall 17-7 Falcon run to start the game. By the 12:14-mark, the Panthers had battled back to within four (19-15), but NDC's defense then pitched a shutout for the next five minutes of game play.  By the five-minute mark, the Falcons found themselves up 14 (33-19).

Notre Dame built that lead with solid shooting in the early going. The Blue & White made 15 of their first 27 attempts from the floor and wound up shooting 58.1 percent (18-of-31) in the opening half.  DeArmond finished with 10 first-half points, and Nathan Ensz hit double-double status early, with 10 points and as many rebounds over the first 20 minutes of play.

In the second stanza Ohio Dominican came out with an 8-2 run, but NDC rallied to again control the momentum of the game.  Throughout much of the second, Notre Dame led by 14-to-18 points.  The Falcons continued to hit their shots, never providing the Panthers with a chance to wrest away control of the game.

Notre Dame shot 58.6 (17-of29) from the floor in the second en route to posting its second-highest single-game shooting percentage this season.

Ensz scored his 21 points on a 9-for-12 shooting performance.  His leadership on the boards led to NDC posting a 38-32 edge in rebounding.

Zack Kapron led the Panthers, with 16 points.

Notre Dame's next game is slated for Saturday, when the Falcons travel to North Canton, Ohio, to take on the Cavaliers of Walsh University.  Tip-off in the game between former American Mideast Conference foes is scheduled for 4 p.m. as the back half of a women's-men's doubleheader.


NOTES FROM THE NEST ….

SENIOR SALUTE:  NDC Men's Basketball honored five senior players -- Troy Baugh, Phil Biggs, Brennan Osborn, Steve Savel, Nathan Snarr -- prior to Wednesday night's contest.  Of that veteran quintet, Biggs has logged the most time -- 117 games -- in a Falcon uniform.     

STATE-ING THEIR CASE: With their victory over Ohio Dominican on Wednesday, the Falcons upped their record against in-state foes this season to 6-9. … The all-time series between NDC and ODU is now tied, 5-5.  Wednesday's game marked the first between the former American Mideast Conference foes since Jan. 17, 2009. … The last time NDC won four games in a five-game stretch was in January 2010.  The Falcons are now 23-40 (.365) since Feb. 1, 2010. … Notre Dame has connected on 60.2 percent (77-of-128) of its field-goal attempts over the last two games.

SAVING HIS BEST FOR THE ENSZ OF THE SEASON: Nathan Ensz has scored 35 points while grabbing 23 rebounds over Notre Dame's last two games, both of which were Falcon wins.  Coming into Wednesday's action, the Goessel, Kan., native was averaging 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.  Ensz' previous season-high in points scored came on Dec. 31 against St. Edwards (Texas), when he poured in 16.  His career-high had been a 17-point effort against Wilberforce on Jan. 5, 2011, of his sophomore season.  The 6-foot-8 center's previous rebounding high had been 11, which he had hit on multiple occasions.