Pierce earns First Team All-American nod
| Pierce Profile |

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Senior point guard Jerome Pierce (Toledo, OH) was tabbed as an NAIA-II First Team All-American with the release of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics teams on Thursday (Mar. 20). The honor closes out one of the finest careers in the history of NDC Athletics.  Pierce’s First Team award is the first in any Notre Dame team sport.  The four-year Falcon was earlier honored as the Player of the year in the American Mideast Conference North Division (Mar. 4).

“I owe a lot of credit to Coach (Kevin) Bille and the coaching staff,” said Pierce, who averaged 20.7 points per game as a senior and helped lead NDC to its first-ever Division Championship.  “They brought me here and pushed me to achieve.  I also recognize that I couldn’t have done this without the support of my parents.  Most of all, I appreciate my time at NDC because of my teammates.”

Pierce hangs up his high-tops as Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,271 points.  Among 10 other career records, Pierce also leaves College Road as the all-time program leader in assists (476), steals (204), 3-point field goals made (451), scoring average (19.1 PPG), and games played (119). He was a three-time First Team All-AMC North selection, and he first appeared on the national radar when he earned an Honorable Mention on the 2005-06 All-American team (his sophomore season).

Pierce was recruited to Notre Dame from Toledo’s Libbey High School, where he earned three letters for the Cowboys.  At Libbey, the 5-foot-8 point guard averaged 14.2 points per game as a senior and was named First Team All-Toledo, and First Team All-District.

As a freshman at Notre Dame, Pierce stepped onto the court and contributed right from the opening tip.  Playing alongside NDC’s career-point leader at the time, Dave Hilborn (2001-05), Pierce played over 32 minutes per game and averaged 17.3 points.  In that season (2004-05), he was named the AMC North Freshman of the Year.

As a sophomore (2005-06), Pierce set the Falcons’ single-game scoring record (46 vs. St. Vincent College-PA, Jan. 14, 2006) and led the AMC in 3-pointers made (4.0 per game).

In his junior season (2006-07), Pierce set NDC’s single-season scoring record (620 points), averaged 20.0 a game, and led the Falcons to their first-ever postseason berth.

This past season, Pierce eclipsed the College Road career scoring mark (Dec. 1, 2007) and sported a scoring average of 20.9 points per contest.  He and his teammates also earned the program’s first-ever Division Championship (AMC North).  The championship was clinched on Feb. 23 in a game dominated by Pierce, who poured in 39 points.  It was the 13th 30-point game of his collegiate career.  And none of it along the way surprised Head Coach Kevin Bille.

“Jerome is a special talent,” said the Falcons’ bench boss, who coached Pierce all four years at NDC.  “What’s more, he is a great person, and it’s been a privilege and a source of pride to watch him grow on and off the court.”

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Athletics Department sponsors the Falcons' participation in 17 men's and women's sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC), which is the largest NAIA conference in the country.

------------------------------------falcons----------------------------------