Markus Burton scores 25 points, Notre Dame turns back late rally by Bellarmine in 86-79 victory

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Markus Burton scored an early season-high 25 points and Notre Dame withstood a late rally to defeat Bellarmine 86-79 on Wednesday night.

Notre Dame (4-1) scored 13 of the first 14 points in the second half, turning a seven-point halftime lead into a 19-point advantage. The Fighting Irish led 50-31 with a little under 16 minutes remaining.

Notre Dame's lead reached 22 points a couple of times and the Irish were up by 16 with 3 1/2 minutes to go before Michael Wilson Jr. scored eight points in a 10-2 run for the Knights that made it 79-72 with 1:40 remaining.

Myles Watkins hit a jumper to make it seven points again, 81-74 with 42 seconds left. The Knights got within five points with 17 seconds left then Burton capped the win with a pair from the line, making Notre Dame 23 of 32 for the game.

Burton connected on 10 of 13 shots. Freshman Jalen Haralson added 16 points, four rebounds and five assists. Carson Towt scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his fifth straight game with double digits off the glass. Cole Certa scored 12 points off the bench.

Five players combined for 73 points for the Knights (1-4). Brian Waddell had 18 points, Wilson and Jack Karasinski 17 each, Watkins 11 and Kenyon Goodin 10.

Burton made 7 of 9 shots and scored 16 points in the first half. Notre Dame shot 60% from the field and led 37-30 at the break. There were seven ties and six lead changes.

Next up for Notre Dame is a trip to Las Vegas for the Players Era Championship. Notre Dame opens with No. 24 Kansas on Monday.

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