Box Score
NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons weren't able to slow down a red hot Walsh offense on Saturday afternoon, as the Cavaliers used a sharp shooting performance to come away with a 78-59 victory over the Falcons.

For the Falcons (10-16), the loss was just their second in their last six games, and for the Cavaliers (24-5) the victory marks their eighth in their last nine games, and increases their home winning streak to 11.

Notre Dame was only able to cool off the Cavaliers in small spurts throughout the game, but the Cavaliers established control just a couple of minutes into the game, and shot the lights out, hitting 51.6-percent (32-for-62) of their shots from the floor.

The Falcons were red hot to start the contest, taking a 5-0 lead just two minutes into the game.  Marcquice Taylor got the Falcons on the board with a 3-ball just 28 seconds into the contest, and Lawrence DeArmond buried a jumper at the 18:48 mark, increasing the NDC lead.

Unfortunately for NDC, Walsh quickly caught fire from the floor, and went on a 12-0 run to make up for their early lapses offensively, and took control of the contest. 

Notre Dame had trouble taking care of the ball over the first ten minutes of the opening half, committing eight turnovers early on, and hit on just 36.3-percent (4-for-11) of their shots during that stretch. 

Walsh opened up a 14-point lead (23-9) halfway through the opening stanza, on the strength of a 3-point barrage, as they hit on 55.5-percent (5-for-9) of their shots from beyond the arc, and drilled 45.0-percent (9-for-20) of their shots from the floor to take the early lead. 

In the final 10 minutes of the opening half, the Falcons found their stroke, and did a much better job of taking care of the ball.  They committed just one turnover the rest of the half, while hitting 43.7-percent (7-for-16) of their shots during that stretch as well. 

Walsh, however, never let up, and continued to knock down their shots, as they took a 38-28 lead at the half.  The Cavaliers nailed 50.0-percent (16-for-32) of their shots from the floor in the first half, including a 46.1-percent (6-for-13) performance from 3-point land. 

The second half began much like the first, with the Falcons scoring early on, dropping the deficit down to eight (38-30) after Phil Biggs hit a jumper just 10 seconds into the half.  The NDC defense held the Cavaliers without a field goal for the first two and a half minutes of the second stanza, providing the Falcons with a window of opportunity to get back into the game. 

That window closed quickly, because the Cavs found their shooting stroke once again, as they knocked down their next seven shots over a four and a half minute stretch, and found themselves ahead, 55-37, at the end of it. 

The Notre Dame defense stepped up again, and held the Cavaliers without a field goal during a five minute stretch in the middle of the half, but the Falcons could not take advantage.  The Cavs maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way, and led by as many as 23 (62-39).

DeArmond led the Falcons with 14 points, marking his fifth consecutive double-digit scoring performance, after failing to do so in his first 13 games of the season.  Taylor added 11 points and a trio of assists while Biggs dumped in a dozen points and pulled down five rebounds. 

NDC shot 42.3-percent (22-for-51) on the evening, and hit on 50.0-percent (7-for-14) of their 3-pointers, but were outrebounded, 38-27.  The Cavaliers secured 14 offensive boards, to NDC's nine. 

The Falcons will participate in the Ohio Independent Championships next week.  The time, date, and opponent have not been determined. 

NOTES FROM THE NEST ...

CLASHING WITH THE CAVS: Saturday's meeting marked the tenth all time between the Falcons and the Cavaliers.  It was also the seventh clash between the two teams on Walsh's home floor.  The Cavs have defeated the Falcons in 10 consecutive contests,   and have won all but one by 10 points or more.  The closest encounter occurred back on Dec. 11, 2004, when Walsh edged NDC, 70-68, in North Canton. 

FEBRUARY FOOTNOTES: Though the Falcons have struggled in the final month of the season over the last four years (11-20), this year, NDC has played pretty well in the month of February.  The Falcons are 4-4 this month, marking the most victories in February over their last four seasons.   

COACH BILLE HONORED: At halftime, NDC head coach Kevin Bille, a guard at Walsh back in the late 1990's, was honored as one of the top-50 players in the history of the Cavalier program.  Bille had an incredible run over his four year career with Walsh.  He was a two-time All-league selection as a point guard. He scored 1,135 points and ranked second all-time in three-pointers made with 196 and third in assists with 383.