LAKE FOREST — The night before an important test, Notre Dame junior Ammar Becar did as any diligent student would.
He studied.
Becar examined how to play against Lake Forest senior forward Evan Boudreaux.
“I watched him on High School Cube. I know he’s a scorer, a great player,” Becar said of Boudreaux, the Scouts’ all-time leading scorer. “I was looking at things I can do.”
Friday night, Becar took his examination when the Dons played the Scouts on the road. And Becar, a 6-foot-5 forward, played well in an overtime thriller that the Dons lost 82-78.
In the first half, Becar hit three-point shots, baseline step-backs and midrange jumpers along with baskets where he posted up Boudreaux and finished around the rim. Boudreaux was Lake Forest’s primary defender on Becar. When the Scouts switched to zone, it did little to slow Becar.
Becar’s production in the first half — 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three — was a big reason for Notre Dame’s 34-33 halftime lead.
“[Becar] started the game out hot so we kept feeding him,” Dons senior guard Joe Mooney said. “We wanted to go after [Boudreaux] and get him in foul trouble.”
However, Boudreaux only had one foul at halftime and finished with a game-high 38 points.
Boudreaux added: “There was a lot of back and forth. You can’t take anything away from [Becar]. He’s a great player.”
Notre Dame fell behind in the second half and Mooney kept the ball in his hands. Lake Forest employed multiple defenders on Mooney, none of whom could slow down his dribble penetration or pull-ups without fouling.
Becar worked away from the ball, setting screens to free up floor space for Mooney.
“We thought we had an advantage there — [Mooney’s] pull-ups, his drives to the basket,” Dons coach Tom Les said. “If he got deep enough, [Becar] could pop out.”
Mooney had 32 points on the night and Becar finished with 29, including a three-pointer at the end of regulation that tied the game at 69 and sent it to overtime.
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Becar’s continued emergence could take some of the pressure off Mooney. The Dons have won games when Mooney binge scores — he had 36 in a 49-42 win over Prospect Dec. 23 — but they’ve also lost games when he’s been hot — most notably a 74-70 loss to Hinsdale Central on Dec. 13 when Mooney scored 37.
After his battle with Boudreaux, Becar said he’s ready for more challenges.
And more study sessions.
“I’ve improved my outside and inside game. I knew coming into the game I had to be ready. [Boudreaux] is a physical guy, a really good player,” Becar said. “We got after it and gave the crowd a good game.”