Irish fight past Macon County into 4-AA semis

Macon County's Trace McPherson (40) takes the charge from Notre Dame's Kealey Green (14) in first half action Tuesday in the Region 3-AA tournament game at Notre Dame.
Macon County's Trace McPherson (40) takes the charge from Notre Dame's Kealey Green (14) in first half action Tuesday in the Region 3-AA tournament game at Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish did not want Tuesday night's Region 4-AA quarterfinal against Macon County to be their final home game of the basketball season.

Following a 70-63 defeat of the Tigers from LaFayette, Tenn., the Irish and their fans want one last encore inside Jim Phifer Gym. If the Irish are able to win their next two region games, Notre Dame would be in line to host a Class AA state sectional.

photo Macon County's Trace McPherson (40) takes the charge from Notre Dame's Kealey Green (14) in first half action Tuesday in the Region 3-AA tournament game at Notre Dame.

"Coming back home would be great," said Tyler Byrd, who scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Notre Dame comeback. "We want to go out there and play every game like it's our last, and that's what we did tonight."

The second half proved to be the difference for the Irish (16-15), who will play Cannon County in the semifinals at Sequatchie County.

Despite surrendering 18 turnovers before halftime, Notre Dame trailed by only two points, 30-28. While ball security was an issue for the Irish against a relentless Tigers defense, Notre Dame's 10-for-13 shooting performance helped the hosts overcome their early turnovers.

"We had not played in a week adn I wasn't expecting a beautiful game," Notre Dame coach J.P. Nerbun said. "But we got through the first half and I told the guys to just control the controllable. And that is what they did."

The Irish grabbed their first lead of the game in the first minute of the second half. A deep 3-pointer by A.J. Flemister and inside buckets by Kealy Green and Byrd gave Notre Dame a five-point advantage midway through the third quarter.

The Tigers hung tough and cut into the lead, staying within striking distance as the third quarter came to a close, trailing 49-45. However, as they had in the first half during the Irish's rash of turnovers, the Tigers were unable to convert golden opportunities, missing numerous point-blank layups that would have allowed them to take strong control of the game.

Notre Dame opened the fourth quarter with a 51-46 lead as Green continued to assert his dominance on the inside. Two 3-pointers by C.J. Greer allowed the Irish to build a 58-49 lead with just over five minutes left.

From there, Byrd took over on the boards and on the foul line, hitting eight of his 11 free throws while playing most of the final quarter with four fouls of his own.

"We're a second-half team and we stepped up again tonight," Byrd said.

"I'm really proud of the way our guys responded," Nerbun said. "We knew Macon County would be tough, and they were. We have to win two more games, but getting an opportunity to have another home game would be great."

Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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