Notre Dame falls in rematch with Charleston

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Notre Dame made things a little more interesting this time around.

Just eight days after the Bulldogs were routed by Charleston in the championship game of the seMissourian Christmas Tournament, Notre Dame played the Bluejays much closer Tuesday night, falling 52-44.

Despite three of its top eight players at home ill, Notre Dame (6-4) hung with Charleston (11-2) until late in the fourth quarter.

"I just wanted to come out and compete and do what we needed to do, and I think for the most part we did that," Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott said.

The Bulldogs jumped to an early advantage and carried it until 34 seconds remained in the first quarter when Ashton Farmer connected on a free throw to tie the game at 13.

With the score tied 17-17 early in the second quarter, Marcus Biles of Charleston hit a jumper to put the Bluejays ahead for good. The basket sparked an 8-0 run by Charleston. With the help of another Biles jumper at the buzzer, the Bluejays took a 31-24 halftime lead.

Both teams struggled to score in the third, but Notre Dame cut the lead to three on a Blake Fisher bucket with five seconds to go as the Bulldog trimmed the lead to 35-32.

Notre Dame would cut the lead to one with 5:30 left on Cory Beussink's deuce in the paint. A Josh Strayhorn three extended the Bluejay lead to 40-36, but Matt Wulfers' answered with a three of his own to cut the lead back to one. That was the closest Notre Dame would get. Charleston led 46-41 with just under two minutes left when Farmer hit the front end of a one-and-one. He missed the second but Kewain Gant put back the offensive rebound to help seal the Bulldogs' fate.

Wayne Essner led Notre Dame with 17 points while Travis Siebert finished with 12.

Biles scored a game-high 18 points for Charleston and Gant added 14.