ND tops Bluejays in SEMO tourney

~ The Bulldogs used a late run to knock off Charleston 74-67 in the first round of the conference tournament

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Notre Dame Bulldogs found themselves in a dogfight Tuesday night in their opening-round game of the SEMO Conference Tournament against Charleston.

With the dominating play of their two starting guards and the re-emergence of their top scorer in the final period, the third-seeded Bulldogs fought off a red-hot Charleston squad 74-67 to advance to Thursday's semifinals.

Notre Dame (2-1) opened the game with a 10-2 run with Jacob Tolbert scoring eight of the Bulldogs' 10 points.

"They're a small team," Tolbert said. "We just tried to pressure them and not let them get their game going."

Notre Dame's Jacob Tolbert shoots over Charleston's Deonte Jones during the first quarter of their first-round game in the SEMO Conference Tournament Tuesday in Sikeston, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

It wasn't long before the sixth-seeded Bluejays caught up.

Charleston cut the lead to 16-12 by the end of the first quarter and eventually pulled even in the second quarter.

Notre Dame took a 25-17 lead on a Tolbert 3-pointer, but the Jays answered with a basket by Deonte Jones and a 3-pointer by Gregory Tucker to trim the deficit to 25-23.

Liam Maher then scored Notre Dame's next eight points with a pair of 3-pointers and a layin to keep the Bulldogs ahead 33-28.

Charleston closed the half with a 5-0 burst to even the score at 33-33.

"You have to give them credit," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "They are well coached and they were disciplined on offense. They didn't force anything -- every shot they took was a quality shot, and man, they got some shooters."

Charleston took its first lead immediately after halftime.

The Bulldogs responded behind the play of Maher and guard Nick Koeppel, who combined for a 9-0 run to give Notre Dame a 42-35 advantage.

Koeppel hit a jumper, Maher followed with a layin and a 3-pointer and Koeppel nailed another jumper.

"Nick's just an all-around player," Roberts said. "He guards, runs an offense, and he took on a little scoring there at the end. He does whatever I ask, and that's what a point guard should do."

Maher finished with nine points in the third quarter as he assumed the scoring load when Tolbert went to the bench with foul trouble.

"That's so big for us," Roberts said. "A guard who can score. [Liam] just played unbelievable. Defensively, offensively, threes, taking it to the hole, we wouldn't have won tonight without him."

Charleston wasn't finished.

The Bluedays mounted a comeback in the third behind the 3-point shooting of Tucker and clawed ahead 56-54 with a steal and layup early in the fourth.

Tolbert tied it with a layin and Matt Helle put the Bulldogs in the lead with a pair of free throws. But 3-pointers by Jones and Tucker in the following minutes gave the Bluejays a 62-61 lead.

"They were making everything," Koeppel said. "They weren't missing. We were contesting; they were just making everything."

With the score tied at 65-65, Notre Dame went on an 8-0 run behind Tolbert's play in the paint.

Tolbert didn't score in the third quarter, but had 10 points in the fourth.

"He's our go-to guy," Roberts said. "When it gets down to the nitty gritty, he's going to get the ball. We really ran our offense well and got it to him, and he's a tremendous scorer."

Tolbert finished with a game-high 21 points, while Maher added 20.

Tucker led Charleston with 20 points and Jones totaled 18.

Notre Dame 16 17 19 22 ?-- 74

Charleston 12 21 16 18 -- 67

NOTRE DAME (74) -- Nick Koeppel 13, Liam Maher 20, Keke Kellum 2, Lucian Starling 6, Jacob Tolbert 21, Matt Helle 12. FG 28, FT 14-17, F 16. (3-pointers: Tolbert, Maher 3. Fouled out: none.)

Charleston (67) -- Akeem Sharp 15, Maurice Moore 4, Mackenzie Ivy 2, Gregory Tucker 20, Deonte Jones 18, Fabreizio Wright 6, Krushon Scott 2. FG 26, FT 6-8, F 17. (3-pointers: Jones 4, Tucker 4, Moore. Fouled out: none.)