Notre Dame

HARRODSBURG ? Notre Dame had a 3 1/2 minute span in the third quarter Wednesday where the Pandas could do no wrong, and Mercer County could do little right. And that proved to be too much for Mercer to overcome, as Notre Dame held off the Titans 51-46 in the semifinals of the Titan Christmas Clash at Mercer. "We really felt like we should have been up 10 or 12 at the time, and we kind of let them crawl back in it right there, and we missed free throws there in the second quarter and some easy shots.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Ramon Harris said it would be wrong to think Kentucky could not win at Notre Dame tonight even though the Wildcats will be playing only 48 hours after winning at Creighton. "For us to expect it to be easy, then that would be too much to hope for," Harris said. "Notre Dame is a very good team. They have senior leadership and a lot of guys playing good ball. It won't be an easy game to win, but it is a game we can win. " That attitude has served the Kentucky forward well over the last six games as he has put together his best overall stretch of play this year.

Colts The West Jessamine boys lost to Greenwood on Wednesday night at the Hoopin' It Up Holiday Classic in London, 55-41. West Coach Robert Hammonds said it was a tough game where nothing went right, and the Colts only shot 21 percent for the game. Stats: M. Lee 2, A. Turner 4, Z. Fain 14, Glendon Blanton 6, D. Rehner 4, Gulian Blanton 7, J. Cox 2, J. Johnson 2. Last Thursday West defeated Notre Dame (Tenn.), 65-45, in London. Stats: M. Lee 9, K. Kagoro 4, A. Turner 7, Z. Fain 10, Glendon Blanton 4, D. Rehner 11, Gulian Blanton 6, M. Lytle 8, T. Zeimann 2, J. Rehner 2. "Actually this was a really really good team,"Hammonds said.

The Mercer County girls made it over the top in the Owensboro Invitational on their third try, beating Notre Dame and Cookeville (Tenn.) Friday to capture the championship of the 30-team tournament. Mercer defeated Notre Dame 59-49 in a semifinal Friday morning, then returned less than eight hours later to edge Cookeville 58-55 in the title game. In their previous Owensboro appearances, the Scotties lost to Henderson County in the semifinals in 2003 and again in the championship last season.

Whenever he had a chance, Kentucky's Patrick Patterson always tried to watch Luke Harangody of Notre Dame play this season. "I have seen a bunch of games with him. I saw when they played Louisville. I saw all the Big East games when they were on TV," said Patterson. "I am just fascinated by him. " Tonight he'll be more than fascinated. He'll likely be paired against Harangody, the Big East Player of the Year last season, often when the Cats take on Notre Dame in a third-round National Invitation Tournament game.

HARRODSBURG ? The Lincoln County girls have been playing solid defense of late, holding four straight opponents under 40 points. Now that they've found some offense, the Patriots are one win away from the Titan Christmas Classic championship. Senior Jessica Upchurch and freshman Emily Fox both scored in double figures and Lincoln held Nelson County to 13 second-half points on its way to a 60-32 win Wednesday in the final four of the Titan Christmas Classic. The last obstacle between the Patriots (8-4)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boyle County athletics director Jim Spears of Danville writes about his experiences during a football weekend at the University of Notre Dame earlier this month. Often in life we go, do and see things with great expectations because of the hype, only to be disappointed. But the Notre Dame experience exceeds the hype, exceeds the expectations and fills you with the tradition and the spirit that makes that place special. My son Alex and I discovered that when we visited Notre Dame for its game with Stanford on Oct. 4, when the Fighting Irish celebrated both a 28-21 victory and the 100th anniversary of the "Notre Dame Victory March," the anthem of college football.

Get live updates from tonight's Notre Dame vs. West Jessamine girls' soccer game starting at 8 p.m. at Dunbar High School. The score updates can be found on The Journal's Facebook and Twitter pages. The Facebook page can be accessed at www.facebook.com/JessamineJournal , and you can follow The Journal on Twitter at www.twitter.com/thejj .

Even though Kentucky lost at North Carolina, the Wildcats showed Notre Dame coach Mike Brey one thing he did not know. “There is a toughness there. They really battled,” said the Notre Dame coach. “It was a great college game in a tough atmosphere. I thought they were really tough and physical. It was just a physical group. Mentally tough, able to defend, able to move their feet. Can we move the ball against their ball pressure?” Notre Dame plays Kentucky Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. in Louisville’s Freedom Hall as part of the Big East/SEC Invitational.

He’s played against Kentucky, and he’s played at Freedom Hall. Yet Notre Dame senior guard Ben Hansbrough says tonight’s game against the Wildcats is still a game he’s looking forward to. “Kentucky always has a great team, so any game against Kentucky is going to be special,” said Hansbrough. “I’m really looking forward to it.” The Irish play UK in the Big East/SEC Invitational in Freedom Hall tonight. Hansbrough played three times against UK when he was a freshman and sophomore at Mississippi State before he transferred to Notre Dame for his final two seasons.