Pictured: Notre Dame forward Tae Davis (7) looks to shoot against Houston forward Ja'Vier Francis on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Notre Dame men's basketball hung tough but never led in a 65-54 loss to Houston late Wednesday night at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
Playing again without star point guard Markus Burton, who will be sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury that's been deemed "week-to-week," the Irish (4-4) didn't have enough firepower to hang with the No. 6 Cougars (5-2).
Notre Dame forward Tae Davis did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Irish offensively with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Guard Braeden Shrewsberry added 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-13 from 3.
Guard Matt Allocco, who stepped up in Tuesday night's overtime loss to Rutgers with 24 points, only managed eight points with five rebounds and four assists against Houston.
The Cougars entered Wednesday's game ranked No. 8 in Division I in scoring defense. That showed up in holding the Irish to 38.8% shooting from the field and 33.3% from 3. Houston also forced 12 Notre Dame turnovers.
A balanced Houston attack complemented a 17-point performance from guard Emanuel Sharp. Houston moved the ball for 19 assists on 27 baskets with an offense that shot 45.0% from the field.
After losing two games in the Impact Group of the Players Era tournament, the Irish have been matched up with No. 21 Creighton (4-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST in the seventh place game. Creighton lost its Power Group games to San Diego State, 71-53, and No. 20 Texas A&M, 77-73.
BOX SCORE: Houston 65, Notre Dame 54
