• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

No. 21 Missouri races past Notre Dame

Nov 22, 2011 - 5:06 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Marcus Denmon scored 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting for No. 21 Missouri, leading the sharp-shooting Tigers to an 87-58 drubbing of Notre Dame in the semifinals of the CBE Classic.

The Tigers (4-0) shot 58 percent and advanced to Tuesday's final against California.

Phil Pressey added 17 points and Ricardo Ratliffe donated 12 points and eight rebounds in the lopsided win.

"We just came out together, collectively as a team, and we shared the ball and moved the ball and we took the shots that were open," Denmon said.

Notre Dame (4-1), which was led by Tim Abromaitis' 22 points, will face Georgia in the consolation game.

Abromaitis had been suspended for the first four games due to a misunderstanding of an NCAA rule during the 2008-09 season.

There was no confusion over which team was superior Monday night, with the Tigers scoring 12 of 13 points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch early on. Denmon netted eight points during, pushing the lead to 25-12 eight minutes in.

Abromaitis had scored his 16th point of the half on a layup to bring the Fighting Irish as close as 42-35 with 3 1/2 minutes left, but Kim English nailed a three-pointer to ignite a 10-point spurt and quell any momentum for the Irish.

Missouri led 52-37 at the break and held Notre Dame to one field goal over the first seven minutes of the second half to pump the margin to an insurmountable 65-43.

Game Notes

Missouri won this event in 2001...Abromaitis was suspended because he played in two exhibition games his sophomore year before sitting out the regular season. Notre Dame thought it had preserved a year of eligibility, but the rule allowing redshirt players to participate in the preseason applies only for freshmen...English scored 10 points, while Scott Martin was Notre Dame's only other double-digit scorer with 12...The Irish shot 37 percent from the field.