Back-and-forth game slips away from ND

The Notre Dame Bulldogs, plagued by 16 first-half turnovers, solved a problem of taking care of the ball in the second half Tuesday against Dexter.

But the biggest turnover of all came in closing seconds of the game. The Bulldogs, playing their first game at home, turned over the lead and never got it back, suffering a 57-54 loss to the Bearcats.

Senior guard Preston Clark's 10-footer with 28 seconds remaining gave the Dexter a 55-54 advantage and proved the final lead change in a wild final minute. The basket was the fourth lead change in 33 seconds and helped Dexter (1-2) to its first victory of the season.

Clark, who scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, added a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to up the lead to 57-54. The Bearcats then weathered a final desperation 3-pointer by Notre Dame's Wayne Essner to secure the win.

The loss was the second straight for Notre Dame (2-2), which lost to Poplar Bluff in the championship game of the Farmington Tournament on Saturday.

"We were there at the end," said Notre Dame guard Travis Siebert, who finished with a team-high 18 points. "We'll get better the next time."

Neither team grabbed a lead of more than four points the entire game as both sides battled their own demons. Dexter shot 27 percent from the field in the first half, while Notre Dame's offense struggled against Bearcat full-court and half-court pressure.

"We did have a lot of turnovers, but hopefully that's something we can work on," said Notre Dame senior center Cory Beussink, who finished with 12 points. "It's something we know we can get better at."

While Dexter accounted for nearly all 16 turnovers with steals, it failed to convert on numerous fastbreak opportunities, missing from point-blank range.

Trailing 27-23, Notre Dame closed the first half scoring on a fastbreak layin by Siebert and a basket in the lane by Beussink, which sent the game into halftime tied 27-27.

"That first half we gave up too many uncontested shots and they just didn't make them," Notre Dame coach Darren Scott said. "We were probably lucky to be close there that first half with 16 turnovers and playing like we did. But at the same time I knew we had to start guarding better and start taking care of the basketball better."

Three ties ensued in the third quarter. Frankie Ellis broke the latter tie, 39-39, with a free throw to give Notre Dame a 40-39 lead at the close of the period.

Notre Dame opened a 42-39 lead on a Siebert basket in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but Dexter began to solve its game-long shooting woes. Shooting 30 percent for three quarters, the Bearcats shot 80 percent in the fourth quarter, hitting all but two of its 10 shots.

"They made big shots," Siebert said. "You have to give them credit. They hit the shots when they had to."

After Josh Miller cut the lead to 42-41, Clark put Dexter ahead the next trip down the floor, hitting a 12-footer with 6:31 left.

The Bearcats didn't relinquish the lead until just over a minute left. Leading 51-50, Dexter went to its delay game but saw Chris Hyten, who led the way with 19 points, miss the front end of a one-and-one. Notre Dame's Matt Wulfers was fouled on the rebound and coolly sank both ends of a one-and-one on the opposite end for a 52-51 lead with 1:01 left. Miller, who had only four points in the game, answered just seconds later for Dexter for a 53-52 Bearcat lead.

Beussink came right back by depositing an offensive rebound to give Notre Dame its final lead, 54-53, with :41 left. Clark then retaliated with his 10-footer for the final lead change.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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