Bad time in Lima
Falcons fall to Northwestern Ohio
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LIMA, Ohio – The NDC Men's squad lost at Northwestern Ohio Tuesday by a score of 82-75. The loss runs the Falcons' season record to 3-5, with the Blue & Gold now losing three of their last four. The win for the Racers was their first home win in this, their debut season after a 22-year absence of athletics at UNOH.

No. 14 Notre Dame (3-5) traded baskets with the Racers through the opening seven minutes of the game before going on a 6-0 run on scores by Dan Jones (Jr/Niles, OH), Danny Wright (So/Collins, OH), and Kyle Miller (Jr/Piketon, OH). That would give NDC a short-lived lead, at 19-13. In the next 11 minutes, UNOH went on a 22-9 run, wresting the lead away from Notre Dame, despite a Miller trey at the end of the half.

Wright had a team-high eight points in nine minutes in the first, as the Falcons went to their locker room at UNOH Gymnasium down 35-31.

In the second half, NDC used the three-ball early and often and effectively to get the lead back from Northwestern Ohio (2-7); the Falcons led, 46-44, when senior point guard Jerome Pierce (Toledo, OH) hit a trey at 14:41. That rally was extinguished, however, by a slew of NDC personal fouls in the next several minutes.

The fouls added up, and started getting the racers to the line. In the second half alone, UNOH would get to the foul line 28 times.

For the game, the Racers hit 25-of-34 (73.5 percent) from the charity stripe - their 25 points at the line dwarfed Notre Dame's eight (8-of-12, 66.7 percent).

The steady diet of free throws allowed Northwestern Ohio to maintain their advantage, which was built gradually until the 10-minute mark. For the game's final 10 minutes, UNOH held leads of between five and nine points. The Racers shot 48.0 percent (12-for-25) from the floor in the second, not allowing NDC to mount a serious comeback.

Jason Sarno (Jr/Elida, OH) and Josh Vorst (So/Ottoville) were a two-man wrecking crew for the Racers - Sarno had 25 points, and his backcourt mate Vorst , OH) added 24.

Pierce, three days after breaking NDC's scoring record, scored 27 to pace the Falcons, who had three players foul out (Miller, Jones, and Karim McFarlane). Before exiting, McFarlane posted a double-double, with 11 points and an NDC season-high 12 rebounds. The sophomore pivot man from Jamaica is now averaging 7.1 rebounds per game this season.

With the road loss, Notre Dame is now 0-2 in road games this season. They travel to Adrian, Mich., for their next game, a 7:30pm tip this Saturday, Dec. 8 against Siena Heights.

Notes from the Nest...

Meet the Racers: This is the first year for Northwestern Ohio basketball since the University re-established athletics after a 22-year absence. The Racers compete as an independent in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). They are expected to join the American Mideast Conference (AMC) for the 2008-09 season.

D-rating: With Tuesday's 82-75 loss, NDC has now yielded 80-plus points in four straight games (1-3). Their scoring defense (79.6 ppg) ranks 11th in the AMC. The Falcons yielded an average of 79.4 points per game a year ago.

Block of the century: On Saturday, Karim McFarlane picked up his 100th career blocked shot. (He added one on Tuesday night.) McFarlane is the Falcons career block leader, and the 6-foot-7 center holds the single-game (9) and single-season (83) records for NDC.