Tigers roar back, beat Bulldogs 58-48

James Lane and T.J. Tisdell dominated Notre Dame inside during the second half.

The two Central post players combined to make all 11 of their shots from the field in the second half of the Tigers' 58-48 victory Monday at the Show Me Center.

"We just came out with more intensity," Lane said. "Coach was like you can't come out all dead and stuff, so we came out and did what we do."

The two Central big men only scored 10 points in the first half and their team trailed 20-18 after the break.

But Lane and Tisdell wouldn't be denied in the second half. They combined for 25 points in the second half.

Central's James Lane drives to the basket against Notre Dame's Andrew Lange as Central's T.J. Tisdell looks on during the second quarter Monday at the Show Me Center. Central won 58-48. (Kristin Eberts)

"When we stand around and shoot 3s and then hope we get offensive rebounds, we can't play like that," Central coach Drew Church said. "I always tell our kids we're going to play inside out. If we go inside and it's not there, then we can kick outside and take a shot. But we're not going outside in. We really concentrated on that the second half and you saw the result."

Lane went 4 of 4 from the field in the third quarter when Central (15-3) pulled away. The Tigers went on an 8-0 run to end the third quarter then scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to gain separation.

"We just have to play our game," Tisdell said about the second half. "We just have to calm down, stop being fast and just slow it down and get the ball inside."

The Tigers struggled from the field early. They only scored five points in the first quarter on 1 of 8 shooting (13 percent). Eight of Central's 17 shots in the first half were 3-pointers. The adjustment at halftime made all the difference.

"We went inside a couple times early and we didn't finish, whether we got fouled or not, we didn't finish," Church said. "Then they kind of stopped wanting it. We settled for some 3s and settled for some bad shots and just didn't play well. Halftime, we talked about we're going to defend and we're going to get the ball inside."

Notre Dame fans cheer during the first quarter of a game against Central on Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, at the Show Me Center. Central won 58-48. (Kristin Eberts)

The Bulldogs' only player taller than 6 foot 3 is 6-7 Jacob Tolbert, while Lane and Tisdell both are 6-5. Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts was surprised the Tigers waited until the second half to exploit their advantage inside.

"They're big and physical," Roberts said. "They should have been throwing inside the whole time. We forced some turnovers early and made some shots and did a lot of things well. We're not physical and they are. We didn't score inside and they did, and that's the story of the game. The shots eventually stopped falling for us."

Tolbert said the Bulldogs (10-10) need to find a way to slow down taller teams. They can't allow teams to take so many shots close to the basket.

"We knew we had to block them out," Tolbert said. "They went primarily inside game the second half, which is what you definitely would expect them to do with all their height. That's where we just have to get big and play big inside and block people out. Stop letting them get so many junk little layups."

Tolbert was the tallest player on the court Monday, but he took more 3-pointers than 2-pointers. He finished with a team-high 16 points, going 3 of 10 on 3s and 1 of 5 on 2s.

Central's Chelsea Vinson takes a shot over Notre Dame's Kaelin Hale during the third quarter of a game on Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, at the Show Me Center. Notre Dame won 72-57. (Kristin Eberts)

"I'm more of a threat when I get to move around and coach has given me free rein," Tolbert said. "I can do so much more when I can just go wherever I want. If I see a gap, I can go for it. I don't have to be in a specific spot because that's too easy to guard."

Roberts said he doesn't necessarily want Tolbert shooting that many 3s, but the defense of Central senior Zach Boerboom played a role in Tolbert's shot selection.

"You've got to take what they give," Roberts said. "He needs to score inside, it's just Boerboom shoved him out of there and they doubled when he caught it inside. It was hard for him to score inside. He needs to get touches so he had to step out on the floor to get touches."

Church was fine letting Tolbert attack from the outside.

"We wanted to be physical with him inside and he's darn tough to stop when he gets to the post," Church said. "Him taking 3s, even though he hit some, was what we wanted. It kind of fell into our game plan. It allowed us to get rebounds and run. When he's away from the basket, it kind of helps us a lot because we're not fouling, they're not taking high-percentage shots and we can rebound and go."

Notre Dame's Madison Huckstep (23), Allyson Bradshaw (21) and Miranda Fowler pressure Central's Megan Daly during the fourth quarter Monday at the Show Me Center. Notre Dame won 72-57.

The game couldn't have gotten off to a better start for Notre Dame. The Bulldogs opened a 20-7 lead on a pair of Tolbert free throws about midway through the second quarter. But the Tigers went on an 11-0 run to end the quarter and pull within two points at halftime.

"We came out strong," Tolbert said. "But golly, we didn't finish the game. We played hard. That's all you can ask for. We just got to get in the gym and work on things and keep getting better."

Central 5 13 20 20 -- 58

Notre Dame 13 7 13 15 -- 48

CENTRAL (58) -- Curtis Branch 9, T.J. Tisdell 14, James Lane 21, Andrew Williams 10, Blake Ozbun 2, Zach Boerboom 2. FG 21, FT 13-16, F 14. (3-pointers: Williams 2, Branch 1. Fouled out: none)

Central's James Lane catches a pass as Notre Dame's Nathan Meystedt defends on the play.

NOTRE DAME (48) -- Nathan Meystedt 9, Jacob Tolbert 16, Alex Beussink 6, Patrick Williamson 6, Jordan Reddin 2, Cody Heisserer 2, Joseph Siebert 7. FG 16, FT 7-11, F 13. (3-pointers: Tolbert 3, Beussink 2, Williamson 2, Siebert 2. Fouled out: none)