Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons brought a six game losing streak to an end on Wednesday evening, in a convincing, 91-60 victory over Salem International (W.Va.).

The victory for the Falcons (3-9) snapped a six game slide, and was their first since Dec. 1, while the loss for the Tigers (8-9) was their second in their last three games.

The two sides went back and forth for the first three minutes of the game, before the Falcons went on a tear.  SIU led the Falcons, 8-6, at the 16:15-mark, before the Falcons went on a 13-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to take a commanding, 19-8 advantage. 

The Falcons followed that with an incredible 24-4 run, and led by as many as 31 (43-12) in the opening half.  NDC applied constant defensive pressure, which forced 10 first half turnovers.  The Falcons combined that defensive effort, with a remarkable, 59.4-percent (19-for-32) shooting performance to take a 51-22 lead at the break. 

The second half was more of the same for the Falcons, who never let up defensively, and never lost their touch on the offensive side throughout the second half. The Falcons saw their lead grow to as many as 34 (73-39), and never led by any less than 25 throughout the contest.

The Falcons used a starting lineup that consisted of all guards, a tactic that paid off for Head Coach Kevin Bille's club, who used constant defensive pressure to come away with six steals on the night, while forcing 18 turnovers in the process. 

"I'm extremely proud of the way our guys played tonight,” said Bille.  “We stuck to our plan, and our guys hustled, shot well, and got a much needed, yet well deserved victory.”

Three Falcons scored in double figures.  While the NDC backcourt did a great deal of the damage throughout the evening, senior forward Eric Dummermuth led the way with a game high, 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds, giving him six double-doubles on the season.  Jarvis Huntley delivered a season best, 15 points to go along with six rebounds, while Raphi Tekie scored 10 points on the strength of a 3-for-7 (42.8-percent) shooting performance from 3-point land.


On the night, Notre Dame shot an even, 50.0-percent (32-for-64) from the floor, while making the most of their opportunities from the free throw line, going 21-for-28 (75.0-percent) from the stripe.  The Falcons outrebounded the Tigers, 46-32 as well. 

The Falcons will be in action again on Saturday, Jan. 12, when they take on Ohio Midwestern at Murphy Gymnasium.  The contest is scheduled to tip at 4 p.m.