Bulldogs dominate Central

~ No. 5 Notre Dame posted a 75-55 victory over the No. 4 Tigers.

The respective student cheering sections of Notre Dame and Central battled to a virtual draw Tuesday night.

But on the court, it was all Bulldogs.

Fifth-seeded Notre Dame unleashed its trademark press on fourth-seeded Central and posted a surprisingly lopsided 75-55 victory in the quarterfinals of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

The Bulldogs (8-1) will face top-seeded Charleston at 6 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals.

"That was probably our best game of the season," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said.

An enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Show Me Center to watch the Cape Girardeau rivals duke it out.

But instead of a down-to-the-wire thriller, the fans got only a Notre Dame romp as the Bulldogs' full-court pressure defense forced one turnover after another, which allowed Notre Dame to build a comfortable lead that it never surrendered.

"That's the key. We work on it every day in practice," senior guard Xavier Delph said. "We base our whole game on it."

Added fellow senior guard Frankie Ellis: "The press is our key. We knew if we came out hard, we'd have a good chance to get on them quick."

Delph and Ellis spearheaded the press that led to numerous easy first-half baskets.

Delph, a transfer from Central who received his share of barbs from the Tigers' student cheering section, led the Bulldogs with 18 points, 12 coming in the first half.

Ellis scored 12 points, 10 coming in the opening two periods.

"They're pretty quick," said a smiling Hale. "They really got us going."

Senior forward Kirk Boeller scored 13 points for Notre Dame, while senior forward Alex Ressel added 10 points.

Central (6-4) was led by junior forward Darnell Wilks with 19 points and senior forward David Deisher with 16 points.

Delph scored the game's first basket and Notre Dame really never looked back.

Central's only lead the entire night came late in the opening quarter as Wilks followed up his own miss for a 16-15 advantage.

But Ellis got a layup off a turnover with 10 seconds remaining in the period to put the Bulldogs up 17-16. The Tigers never caught up again.

Notre Dame used a 15-4 run to lead 38-24 late in the second quarter. Central closed within 38-27, but the Bulldogs scored the final six points, capped by Delph's steal and jumper just before the buzzer, putting Notre Dame ahead 43-27 at the break.

Central showed signs of life in the third quarter, with a Wilks steal and dunk making it 48-41. But the Tigers got no closer.

Leading 50-43 after three periods, Boeller scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and the rout was on. Notre Dame hit all 11 of its foul shots in the period and led by 23 points in the closing seconds.

"In the first half we had a lot of energy and had our legs," Hale said. "For us to be effective, the press has to work."

It certainly worked Tuesday night.

Notre Dame 75, Central 55

Notre Dame17 26 7 25 -- 75

Central 16 11 16 12 -- 55

NOTRE DAME (75) -- Frankie Ellis 12, Abe Dirnberger 2, Xavier Delph 18, Ty Williams 8, Kirk Boeller 13, Ryan Willen 4, Alex Ressel 10, Brandon Holzum 3, Lucas Dirnberger 1, Logan Haines 4. FG 26, FT 17-22, F 21 (3-pointers: Boeller 1, Holzum 1. Fouled out: Willen)

CENTRAL (55) -- Adrian Cox 1, Jujuan Bell 2, Jared Thomas 3, Darnell Wilks 19, Jeremy Kimble 5, Garrett Ozbun 9, David Deisher 16. FG 21, FT 13-22, F 22 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)