SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In its final performance in the 2020 portion of the schedule, the Bellarmine University men's basketball team fell 81-70 to Notre Dame on Wednesday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.

With both teams having games canceled this week, Bellarmine (1-3) and Notre Dame (3-4) successfully managed to scramble to set the game up Monday.

"I want to publicly thank (Notre Dame) Coach (Mike) Brey and the University of Notre Dame on behalf of our entire university," Knights Coach Scott Davenport said. "I have no words to express how Coach Brey and the administration at Notre Dame pulled this off. Notre Dame played all juniors and seniors. There's no way we could simulate the 40 minutes of basketball we played today in a practice."

Bellarmine played well for most of those 40 minutes, but similar to the season opener at Duke, the Knights didn't close the first half strong. With 4:22 left before halftime, the contest was knotted at 33-all, but Notre Dame rolled into the break on a 12-3 run in building a 45-36 advantage.

"We went into halftime down nine, and it should have been a four- or five-point game," Davenport said. "I was livid at halftime, and they responded. I know they're encouraged, and that encourages me."

Notre Dame's spurt to end the first half was crucial for the Fighting Irish. The teams played evenly the first 15 minutes and the last 20; Notre Dame edged Bellarmine 36-34 in second-half scoring behind some late free throws.

Bellarmine got within three early in the second stanza on a 3-pointer by senior guard CJ Fleming, and senior forward Ethan Claycomb knocked down a triple with less than 12 minutes remaining as the Knights were within striking distance at 59-52. Bellarmine stayed within seven as the clock ticked under four minutes, but a seven-point deficit proved to be a barrier as Notre Dame kept the Knights at bay.

After missing the first three games, Fleming showed no signs of rust, burying five of his six 3-point attempts in scoring 15 points with four assists. Despite limited practice time, junior guard Dylan Penn had a standout second half and finished with a team-high 16 points. Junior guard Pedro Bradshaw collected 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, Claycomb added 10 points and junior guard Juston Betz distributed five assists.

Bellarmine shot 50 percent and drained 11 of its 20 3-point attempts. However, Notre Dame shot 60.5 percent and had a decisive 34-15 rebounding advantage. Dane Goodwin was particularly hard to handle, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field and 11-for-11 marksmanship from the line.

"It wasn't our offense," Davenport said. "We gave up 60 percent shooting, and if we missed, we didn't get another chance (because of their rebounding). At the end of the day, that was the game. Give them credit: They have good basketball players."

Bellarmine will play Jan. 1 and 2 in Freedom Hall, hosting Transylvania on the former day and Mount St. Joseph on the latter. Tip-offs are scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) and 5 p.m., respectively.

"We believe in being consistent," Davenport said. "We won't prepare for Transylvania any different than we would for Duke or Notre Dame."

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