Whipple, Pioneers squeeze Falcons
Point Park takes down NDC, 75-61
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SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio  –  Notre Dame lost to Point Park University Tuesday, 73-54.  The loss in the American Mideast Conference (AMC) tilt runs NDC’s league record to 3-2.  Point Park is now 3-3.

The loss for Notre Dame (10-13, 3-2) is also their second in a row.  The Falcons had won a program-record five in a row (Jan.  12-26) before dropping their last two to Malone (Saturday) and Point Park.

Notre Dame and Point Park traded baskets throughout most of the first half.  Halfway through the opening stanza, the Falcons hit stride with a quick five points off the bench from Eric Maag (Fr/Columbus Grove, OH).  Maag  hit a jumper at 7:53 to give NDC a 23-19 lead.   

The Pioneers maintained a balanced offense throughout the first with Dan Muto’s (Sr/Pittsburgh, PA) nine points leading the way.  NDC took a 33-31 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Pioneers came out firing on all cylinders, going 7-for-11 in to open the second period.  Kyle Miller (Jr/Piketon, OH) got the Falcons within one on a jumper in the paint with nine minutes remaining.  Muto answered with a slam dunk at the other end to keep the Pioneers in the lead, 50-47.

The next couple trips down the floor decisively swung the momentum in PPU’s favor.  Cleveland native D’Veron Harris (Sr/Cleveland, OH).  Harris drilled a pair of 3-pointers in between a pair of NDC misfires to give the Pioneers a 56-49 lead at 7:34.  Harris finished the game with 17 points.

The rest of the way Notre Dame would come no closer than six, as they struggled finding the bottom of the net.  The Falcons shot just 30.0 percent (9-for-30) in the second.
Pierce led the Falcons in scoring – he hit for 21.  Sophomore center Karim McFarlane posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.  Eric Maag and Kyle Miller each scored eight.

2006-07 First Team All-American Chivas Whipple (Sr/Youngstown, OH) led the Pioneers with a 21-point, eight-rebound performance.  Dan Muto added 16 and 15.

The Falcons' next game is slated for Saturday, Feb. 9, on the road at Daemen College (NY) in Amherst, N.Y.. Daemen came into Tuesday's AMC games deadlocked with NDC at 3-1 in the division. The opening tip in Amherst is slated for 4:00pm.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

SCENE OF THE CRIME: Tuesday's game marked PPU's return to South Euclid for the first time since they came to College Road undefeated (19-0) and ranked No. 3 in the nation Jan. 20, 2007.  The Falcons downed the Pioneers, 89-66, in that game, which stands as the largest upset in NDC program history. Jerome Pierce led the NDC effort in the upset; the then-junior scored 25 points and led a Falcon offense that committed just eight turnovers.  NDC outscored PPU 51-29 in the second half of the game, holding the Pioneer offense to 24.3 percent (8-for-33) from the floor.

CONFERENCE CALL: The outcome of the Falcons-Pioneers battle Tuesday figures to weigh heavily on the postseason aspirations of both teams.  The AMC men's basketball playoffs commence during the last week of February with qualifiers vying for automatic bids to the upcoming NAIA Division II National Tournament.  The top three teams in the North will advance to the AMC postseason, which tips off Feb. 26.  The AMC owns two automatic bids in the 32-team NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament, which will take place on Mar. 12-18 at the College of Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.

BLUE, GOLD & PINK: Notre Dame's women's-men's doubleheader against Point Park was the drawing card for Shoot for the Cure, a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Falcon fans in pink attire dotted the Murphy Gymnasium bleachers, and funds were raised to assist with the battle against breast cancer. The event was sponsored by NDC Resident Life and the Department of Athletics.