Notre Dame snaps Carmel’s streak with OT decision

The comeback wasn’t enough for Carmel Catholic’s boys basketball team Friday night.

The Corsairs fell to Notre Dame 51-50 in overtime, despite erasing a 41-31 deficit midway through the fourth quarter.

The loss snapped Carmel’s seven-game winning streak, as the Corsairs fell to 17-4 overall and 2-2 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. They had not lost in January.

Notre Dame coach Tom Les considered this an upset for his Dons.

“Carmel’s a good team. They are big and physical,” said Les, whose team improved to 2-2 in the ESCC. “We’re pretty young and I think we grew up a little tonight.”

Notre Dame’s Ammar Becar led all scorers with 24 points. Jack George paced Carmel with 23.

“Our effort wasn’t too good tonight,” Carmel coach Tim Bowen said. “Our defense and rebounding just weren’t there, and we missed too many fouls shots.”

Carmel shot only 12 of 25 from the free-throw line, while Notre Dame was 9 of 18.

Notre Dame’s Joe Mooney opened the overtime with a rebound and tip in, and Donte Washington drove for a layup to give the Dons a 49-46 lead in the opening minute.

The Corsairs had several chances to tie the score, but they missed three one-and-ones in a row. Lucas Simon clinched the game with 2 foul shots with 14 seconds left.

Carmel had a shot to tie the game at the end, but the ball hit the rim and rolled out of bounds.

C.J. Duff added 9 points for the Corsairs.