Charleston disposes of Notre Dame 70-41

Notre Dame held top-seed Charleston to 15 points in the first and third quarters combined on Saturday at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

Unfortunately for the No. 8 Bulldogs, in the second and fourth quarters Charleston scored 55 points en route to a 70-41 quarterfinal win. The Blue Jays will play Jackson at 6 p.m. Monday in the semifinals.

"They came to play, everyone comes to play against us," Charleston coach Danny Farmer said. "They stepped it up to another level. But we've been able to respond every time another team tries to take it to another level."

Despite a 2-6 record, Notre Dame came out fired up against the state's top-ranked Class 3 team. The Bulldogs scored the first eight points of the game and did not allow a Blue Jay basket the first five minutes of the quarter. After one quarter Notre Dame led 8-6.

"I think we came out pretty heated for the beginning," Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott said. "I felt like we rebounded well during the first quarter, and for a while we did exactly what we wanted to do."

Charleston freshman Jamarcus Williams converted a three-point play 15 seconds into the second quarter to give the Blue Jays their first lead. After a Bryce Willen three-point play for Notre Dame made the score 14-12, Charleston went on a 9-0 run to spread the lead to 23-12. By halftime the lead had grown to 28-14.

"We just came out and we weren't ready to play," Charleston senior Joshua Strayhorn said. "So we just came out and started relaxing out there and just went out and played."

After letting the lead get to 14, the Bulldogs came out in the second half and stepped up their defensive pressure once again. The teams traded baskets throughout the quarter with a John Eric Klein basket bringing Notre Dame to within nine at 32-23 midway through the third. Charleston got the lead back to 11 before Willen hit three free throws with a second remaining to bring the score to 37-29 at the end of the quarter.

"I think I was most proud of our third quarter," Scott said.

Notre Dame's comeback was short-lived. After Mark Unterreiner's basket made the score 39-31 early in the fourth quarter, it would be nearly five minutes before Notre Dame would score again. Charleston finally took hold of the game, going on a 16-0 run to spread the lead to 55-31 with less than three minutes remaining.

Marcus Biles and Strayhorn combined for 14 points during the run. Strayhorn finished with a game-high 23 points and Biles had 15. Ashton Farmer added 11 for Charleston.

"We've got a lot of weapons," Strayhorn said. "All five starters are weapons and the guys coming off the bench, they could be starters."

Willen led Notre Dame with 22 points.

CHARLESTON 70, NOTRE DAME 41

Notre Dame 8 6 15 12 -- 41

Charleston 6 22 9 33 -- 70

NOTRE DAME (41) -- John Eric Klein 9, Bryce Willen 22, Mark Unterreiner 8, Jeremy Brinkmeyer 1. FG 14, FT 11-17, F 21 (3-pointers: Klein 1, Willen 1. Fouled out: Unterreiner)

CHARLESTON (70) -- Ashton Farmer 11, Marcus Biles 15, Trentez Lane 5, Joshua Strayhorn 23, Jamarcus Williams 6, Moses Gater 6, George Rigney 3. FG 26, FT 12-27, F 17 (3-pointers: Rigney 1, Gater 2, Lane 1, Strayhorn 3. Fouled out: none)