ND boys fight turnovers in win

Bragging rights don't come with disclaimers about margin of victory or style points.

All that matters is who owns the deeds.

In a one-game, winner-take-all meeting with cross-town rival Central on Tuesday at the Show Me Center, Notre Dame's boys basketball team emerged with the rights with a skin-of-the-teeth 47-46 victory.

The Bulldogs weathered 26 turnovers to improve to 14-6 overall and 4-2 in the SEMO Conference.

"It's good to go out with bragging rights that can't be overturned," said Notre Dame senior Tyler Cuba, who scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter. "We've got bragging rights from now on. I'm not going to go out around town bragging we beat Central, but it's a good feeling to win your senior year."

Notre Dame turned the ball over on half its first-half possessions but still managed a two-point lead over a Central (13-6, 1-3) team that continued to struggle with its shooting. The Bulldogs committed 16 turnovers in the half, nearly matching their point total in taking a 17-15 halftime lead.

"That was probably our worst turnover ratio in a game this year," said senior guard Travis Siebert, who finished with a team-high 12 points. "We weren't doing too hot handling the ball, but we did play hard so things came out better at the end."

"We battled tonight and did what we needed to do to make up for the turnovers we were making," Cuba added.

Notre Dame overcame its turnover woes -- many forced by Central's pressure -- by shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

Siebert and Wayne Essner both hit two 3-pointers for Notre Dame, which was 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

Notre Dame coach Darren Scott thought his team's first-half turnovers problems were due to the extra dose of adrenaline that came with playing Central on Southeast Missouri State University's home floor before a crowd of 1,645.

"We had trouble tonight finding that fine line of being aggressive and yet being under control," Scott said. "And anytime you make 26 turnovers and win you've got to feel lucky."

Part of the turnover problem was Central guard Will Johnson, who finished with 10 steals and a team-high 12 points.

The Bulldogs also overcame their transgressions with stingy defense. Central shot just 28 percent from the field, including just 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

"We took care of the ball, but we just missed our shots," Central coach Derek McCord said.

The Tigers also encountered a stroke of bad luck when senior forward Mitch Craft went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter. Craft scored six of the Tigers' first eight points in the game, but turned an ankle on his final basket and didn't come back until late in the half. Craft, visibly bothered by the wrapped ankle, didn't score the remainder of the game.

"We got him back in, but his mobility was really limited," McCord said.

Central took its only lead of the second half on its lone 3-pointer by Jay Ruark late in the third quarter. The basket capped a 12-2 spurt by the Tigers that rallied Central from a 27-18 deficit. Central led 30-29 with 1:43 left in the half, but Siebert countered with a 3-pointer on Notre Dame's next possession for a 32-30 lead.

Central tied the score 32-32 on two Willie Colon free throws, but Notre Dame moved ahead for good with a 7-0 spurt.

Matt Wulfers, who closed the third quarter with a pair of free throws for a 34-32 Bulldog lead, scored the first five points in the run. Cuba split several Central defenders in the lane for a fast-break basket to give Notre Dame a 39-32 lead with 7:00 left.

Still trailing by seven points, 45-38, with under four minutes left, Central went on a 6-0 spurt. Notre Dame center Cory Beussink fouled out with 1:56 left in the game and Central's Ryan Delph hit the accompanying free throws to cut the gap to 45-44.

Bryce Willen put Notre Dame ahead 47-44, but Delph again trimmed the lead to one, 47-46, when he knifed between defenders on a baseline drive with 1:06 left.

After the Bulldogs missed a shot on their next possession, Central took control with :25 left, but Delph missed a short baseline shot, and Notre Dame got possession of the rebound with 14 seconds left.

Central fouled Wulfers with five seconds left, and the junior missed the front end of a one-and-one. Central controlled the rebound but only managed a long, hurried 3-point shot at the buzzer that caromed off the backboard.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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