Pilots fly past Falcons
NDC drops title game in Tip-Off Tourney
| Box |

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – No. 14 Notre Dame lost to Bethel (IN) Saturday, 77-67, in the championship game of the Holiday Inn Tip-Off Tournament. The Falcons were out-shot by the Pilots, 53 percent to 40 percent, in a game that the visitors controlled for much of the second half.

The loss runs NDC's record to 2-2 on the season, and it comes against a quality Bethel squad which was ranked No. 30 in the pre-season NAIA Coaches Poll. That was before what is now a 6-1 start to the season for the Pilots, who forced 14 turnovers and scored 40 points in the paint in claiming the title of the Tip-Off Tournament.

Bethel (6-1), which defeated Indiana Tech Friday to reach the tournament final, was down early in the game against Notre Dame (2-2). The Falcons scored the first five points of the contest and held an 11-6 lead at the 16:50 mark, after Jerome Pierce (Sr/Toledo, OH) connected on a 3-point play.

Over the next 12 minutes, however, the Pilots went on a 31-16 run to take a 10-point lead at 4:30. The Falcons battled back to cut the score to 39-37 in the waning moments of the first half, but Bethel's point guard Ryne Lightfoot (So/Wakarusa, IN) scored a lay-up as time expired to send the Pilots into their locker room with a 41-37 advantage. Lightfoot went on to score 15 points for the night, while adding five assists. Pierce scored 15 first-half points for Notre Dame.

Two minutes into the second frame, NDC came back to knot the score at 43-43. Bethel then went on a 15-5 run over the next six minutes to take control of the game. The Falcons never got closer than eight points after that Pilot run.

"That's a really good team that plays the game the right way," said NDC Head Coach Kevin Bille of Bethel. "We made some mistakes that we need to correct as we go through the early part of the year to get where we want to be. But for tonight, you tip your hat to a quality team that's well-coached."

For the game, the Pilots shot a steady 52.5 percent (31-for-59), never going cold from the floor for a long stretch. Notre Dame shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the field, which marks the second time this season the Falcons have been held under 40 percent.

The Falcons were led by Karim McFarlane and Jerome Pierce, who were both named to the all-tournament team. McFarlane posted a 19-8-6 night (points-rebounds-assists) on Saturday. Pierce led all scorers with 23 points.

Tyler Brown (So/South Bend, IN) led Bethel with 18 points and nine rebounds. Both he and William Walker (16 points Saturday) were named to the all-Tip-Off squad.

Notre Dame takes to the court in their first road game Tuesday, Nov. 20, when they travel to Portsmouth to take on Shawnee State. The opening tip against the Warriors is scheduled for 7:00pm.

Notes from the Nest...

61*: Jerome Pierce moved closer to becoming Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer over the course of the Falcons' two-day tournament. Pierce scored 53 points over NDC's 1-1 weekend against Miami-Hamilton and Bethel. He now trails Dave Hilborn (2001-05) by 61 points on the NDC career list; Hilborn scored 1,828 points in his four-year career. Through NDC's first four games this season, the senior playmaker is averaging 25.8 points and 4.0 assists per contest.