Chicago - Saint Louis sophomore Willie Reed recorded his second straight double-double with career highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds, but No. 23 Notre Dame pulled away late from the Billikens 64-52 to close out the Chicago Invitational Challenge at UIC Pavilion on Saturday. Reed was named to the All-Tournament team after recording double-doubles against both Iowa State and the Irish.
The Billikens tied the game on an inside hoop by Brian Conklin, but the Irish scored four straight points on a free throw and a 3-pointer for a 12-8 lead seven minutes into the contest. The Irish built the lead to 17-8 before Conklin powered inside for a layup to ignite a 10-0 Billiken run.
Justin Jordan drilled a long trey as SLU closed to 17-13 with eight minutes left in the first half. Kwamain Mitchell intercepted a pass, went the distance and drew a foul as the Billikens trimmed the deficit to 17-16. An emphatic dunk by Reed gave the Bills their first lead 18-17 at the 5:21 mark. The Billiken defense kept ND All-America candidate Luke Harangody scoreless for the first 15 minutes of the half before he hit a turnaround jumper. Conklin hit his fourth field goal to draw the Bills to 25-24 in the final minute, but the Irish scored in the waning moments to take a 27-24 lead at halftime.
The Irish started the second half with a burst as Harangody scored the first five points of the half to take a 32-24 lead. Reed answered with a dunk in transition, and Mitchell scored on a drive to bring SLU to 32-28 at the 16:44 mark of the second half. Femi John's trey at the 14:42 mark drew SLU to within one 36-35. The Irish answered with an 8-0 run, before two free throws by Reed ended the run. A jumper by Conklin and a long shot from the wing by Mitchell drew SLU to 47-41 with just over nine minutes remaining. The Irish kept a hold of the lead and a 3-pointer by Mitchell cut the lead to 52-48 with five minutes to play. After one ND free throw, the Irish scored again at the shot clock buzzer to build a 55-48 lead with 3:45 to go which was the start of a 7-0 run. Reed hit a free throw to keep the Billikens close. The Irish hit six free throws in the final minute to keep the Billikens at bay.
Reed had nine offensive rebounds en route to his 15 boards. Conklin scored 10 points and helped slow down Harangody to 18 points, nearly nine below his average. Mitchell added 14 points.
The Billikens are now 4-2 on the season, while the Irish stand at 6-1. The Billikens travel to Athens, Ga., on Wednesday to take on Georgia.
