LAS VEGAS – Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points and No. 6 Houston never trailed as it beat Notre Dame 65-54 in a game that ended early Thursday morning at the Players Era Festival.

Terrance Arceneaux added 13 points for Houston (4-2), and Milos Uzan had 10 points and nine assists.

Tae Davis led the Fighting Irish (4-3) with 22 points and eight rebounds, and Braeden Shrewsberry scored 16 points.

Both teams had lost overtime in previous days – Houston lost to No. 9 Alabama 85-80 and Notre Dame lost 85-84 to Rutgers.

The extra work and playing on consecutive nights showed in the second half. Notre Dame increased its shooting percentage from 50% in the first half to 31% in the second 20 minutes, and Houston shot 32.3% after shooting 58.6% in the first half.

Both teams experienced a goal drought, but the Cougars still had something left. Except for a 42-second tie, Houston played on the front foot all evening.

Takeaways

Houston: LJ Cryer set a career high with 30 points in Tuesday’s overtime loss to No. 9 Alabama, but shot just 2 for 11 against the Irish and scored six points. However, the Cougars had enough other talent to prevail.

Notre Dame: The Irish were unable to overcome such a performance, Matt Allocco had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against Rutgers, but eight points, five rebounds and four assists against Houston.

Key moment

Notre Dame cut a 10-point deficit to one point in the second half, but then didn’t score for four minutes, allowing Houston to stay ahead.

Key statistics

Houston’s bench outscored Notre Dame’s 19-0.

Next

Houston plays San Diego State in the third-place game on Saturday and Notre Dame faces No. 21 Creighton for seventh place.

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