February 16, 2008

Twin wins
Falcons sweep in weekend trip to New York
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HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Notre Dame defeated Houghton College (NY), 70-60, Saturday in American Mideast Conference (AMC) North Division action. The victory for the Falcons gives them a sweep in a Friday-Saturday back-to-back series in upstate New York - NDC topped Roberts Wesleyan, 63-54, on Friday in Rochester. The pair of weekend wins comes on the heels of a three-game losing streak; the Falcons are now 5-3 in AMC North Division play.

Junior guard Kyle Miller (Piketon, OH) scored 24 points to lead the Blue & Gold, who are now in third place in their division with one week remaining in the regular season.

Notre Dame (12-14, 5-3) got out of the gate quickly Saturday, jumping to an eight-point lead (13-5) in the first seven minutes of play. That run was fueled by Miller, who wound up with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first. The junior guard hit an array of jumpers against the Highlanders throughout the opening frame, as NDC built a 34-28 lead by halftime.

Houghton (7-17, 0-8) came out and quickly erased that advantage in the second. The Highlanders hit three consecutive jumpers from beyond the arc to take a 43-42 lead at 15:27. NDC answered the Houghton run, but this time with their inside game. Keith Bowden (Sr/Akron, OH), Karim McFarlane (So/Portmore, Jamaica), Paul Spencer (Fr/Mandeville, Jamaica), and Dan Jones (Jr/Niles, OH) dotted the stat sheet over the next six minutes of play with a slew of points, assists, rebounds, and defensive stops. The inside passing of the Falcon frontcourt led to several baskets in the paint, and Notre Dame had claimed a 54-50 advantage by 8:44.

A layup by sophomore forward Yannick Anzuluni (Ottawa, ONT) at 4:53 brought the Highlanders to within one on the Neilson Center scoreboard (55-54). Anzuluni, who scored 21 points against NDC in South Euclid on Jan. 19, went on to tally 13 points in the game. He also pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out six assists.

After the Anzuluni bucket, however, the Notre Dame defense clamped down like a vice. Over the final 4:53, Houghton would hit just two more shots, both of which were Anzuluni 3-pointers. Over that stretch, NDC went on a crucial 15-6 run to put the game away. Miller, who notched his eighth 20-point game of the season, was front and center in the surge. The 6-foot-2 guard scored seven points in the final two minutes, five of which came at the line, once Houghton began fouling.

Miller finished the game 8-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the free throw line. As a team, NDC shot 52.9 percent (27-for-51) for the game. They hit just 52.2 percent (12) of their 23 free throw attempts.

In addition to Miller's 24, the Falcons also got superb production out of Karim McFarlane. The 6-foot-7 pivot man scored 18 on 9-of-11 shooting while grabbing a team high 10 boards for his 11th double-double of the season. McFarlane also had five assists.

The AMC's leading scorer, senior point guard Jerome Pierce (Toledo, OH), was held to just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting. Sophomore center Danny Wright (Collins, OH) chipped in seven points.

Senior forward Vilaitis Rimgaudis (Silute, Lithuania) led Houghton with 15 points. The Highlanders shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the field. NDC out-rebounded Houghton, 35-28.

With one week remaining in the Falcons' regular season, NDC controls its own destiny in claiming the third and final postseason slot available in the AMC North. The Falcons are in third place in the North, a game behind division leading Malone College (6-3). Daemen College-NY (also 5-3) sits in second place by virtue of a victory of NDC last week (Feb. 9). Notre Dame will play both Malone and Daemen this week, with the AMC regular season coming to an end Feb. 23.

Point Park-PA (5-4) and Roberts Wesleyan (4-5) are within a game-and-a-half of NDC in the North standings, in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The North Division will qualify three teams into the AMC Postseason, which tips off Feb. 26.

The Falcons' next game is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 19, when Malone comes to College Road for an AMC North women's-men's doubleheader. The men's game is scheduled to tip off at 8:00pm. The game will be aired tape-delay on SportsTime Ohio (STO) Wednesday at noon.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

HIGH(LANDER)-LOW: With Saturday's home defeat at the hands of Notre Dame, the Houghton Highlanders are now winless in their last six games. They've also lost nine of their last 10 and are in sixth place in the North. ... With their season sweep of the Highlanders (NDC defeated HC, 74-67, on Jan. 19), the Falcons have now won eight straight against Houghton. NDC is 9-5 all-time against HC.

ANOTHER FIRST: Jerome Pierce garnered one steal in Saturday's victory at Houghton. The Falcons' senior guard now has 196 career thefts, which ties him with Dave Hilborn (2001-05) for first place on the Falcons' all-time list. Pierce is already Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer (2,179 points) and leading assist man (461 assists).

DOUBLING UP: Karim McFarlane's double-double Saturday (18 points, 10 rebounds) is his 11th of the season and fourth straight. Over NDC's last seven games, the Jamaican import is averaging 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 57.7 percent (45-for-78) from the floor. For the season, McFarlane is averaging 12.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. heading into the weekend, he ranked in the league's Top-10 in rebounding, field goal percentage (55.0 percent), and blocked shots (2.7 per game)... McFarlane collected four double-doubles last season (2006-07) as a freshman.

20/20: With his 24-point performance Saturday, Kyle Miller has now posted eight 20-point games this season. That figure ranks second on the team behind Jerome Pierce, who has 13 such games. For the season, Miller is now averaging 13.8 points per game.