Notre Dame holds off Perryville in double overtime

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Notre Dame fought off a scrappy Perryville squad Saturday at the Heartland Hoopfest at the Perry Park Center to win 73-64 in double overtime.

Notre Dame had a lead of 11 points midway through the second quarter, but Perryville fought back and tied the game 28-28 about one minute into the second half.

The teams then battled back and forth, neither holding more than a four-point lead in the second half. Notre Dame took a 51-48 lead into the last 30 seconds of regulation, but Perryville's Phillip Buerck nailed a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The teams took turns holding the lead in the first overtime. Notre Dame was up by two, 58-56, until Perryville's Andrew Norman sank a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to put the Pirates on top, 59-58. Notre Dame's John Eric Klein, who missed all of last week with an ankle injury, connected on the first of two free throws to again tie the score and send it to double overtime.

The second overtime, though, was all Notre Dame, as the Bulldogs took advantage of free-throw opportunities. Notre Dame hit 10 of 14 free throws in the second overtime to win 73-64.

"It was a struggle the whole game, but we made the plays at the end," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said. "We were really fortunate to win."

The win lifted Notre Dame to 3-5, while Perryville fell to 3-5.

"We've lost five games and every one came down to the last possession," Perryville coach Joel Roth said. "Instead of being 3-5 we could easily be 6-1.

"But we had 34 turnovers. We should have gotten blown out."

Notre Dame welcomed back Klein, who played throughout the game but only scored points in the two overtimes. He had five points, all on free throws.

"He's our leading scorer, and he hasn't played in a week," Hale said. "He's not near 100 percent, but he can make those free throws."

Perryville's Norman led all scorers with 21 points. Phillip Buerck added 14 for Perryville, and Milan Klaus chipped in with 10.

Notre Dame was led by Frankie Ellis, who scored just two points in the first three quarters but finished with 17. Eight of those points came in the two overtimes. Jeremy Brinkmeyer added 13 for the Bulldogs, and Kirk Boeller had 10 points.

Roth said that with time, his team will get better, but for now, the Pirates are showing their lack of experience.

"Most of our turnovers were bad decisions that come from a lack of experience," he said. "That's been the story almost every game. I told them that if they would come to open gyms and participate as a team, we could be 6-1. There's no doubt in my mind. It all goes back to not putting in enough time in the offseason.

"These are all good kids, and we'll get better. But, unfortunately, you've got to get better in the offseason too."

NOTRE DAME 73, PERRYVILLE 64

Notre Dame 15 13 10 13 8 14 -- 73

Perryville 8 17 15 11 8 5 -- 64

NOTRE DAME (73) -- Frankie Ellis 17, Jeremy Brinkmeyer 13, Kirk Boeller 10, Alex Ressel 9, Abe Dirnberger 7, John Eric Klein 5, Mark Unterreiner 5, Jacob Essner 5, Steven Eeftink 2. FG 21, FT 29-46, F 22 (3-pointers: Essner 1. Fouled out: Ressel)

PERRYVILLE (64) -- Andrew Norman 21, Phillip Buerck 14, Milan Klaus 10, Cory Buerck 8, Ricky Dunn 6, Josh Hayden 5. FG 21, FT 17-27, F 30 (3-pointers: P. Buerck 2, Norman 2, C. Buerck 1. Fouled out: P. Buerck, C. Buerck, Dunn, Klaus.)

St. Vincent picks up second straight win

By Laura Villmer ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Oak Ridge stayed within striking distance of St. Vincent for about eight minutes Saturday in the Heartland Hoopfest at the Perry Park Center.

After that, the Indians pulled away and went on to win 50-34.

Oak Ridge's Zach Buchheit nailed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in the first quarter to put the Bluejays on top 16-15.

But the Indians held the Bluejays without a point in the second quarter and took a 25-16 lead into halftime. Oak Ridge never got any closer than that, as the Indians rolled to the win.

It was the second win in a row for St. Vincent (2-3).

"We're glad to get the win," Indians coach Bruce Valleroy said. "We've only been playing together for three weeks now, so any win is a good win."

Valleroy said his players are still making the transition from the state championship football season to basketball.

"We've still got to get in basketball shape," he said. "Football and basketball are different because with football, you get to rest after every play. With basketball, you've got to keep going up and down the floor."

Oak Ridge fell to 1-6. Coach Robert Stein said his team didn't play with the same fire that the Indians did.

"We didn't play with any energy or emotion," he said. "Their height bothered us too, but we couldn't play with any energy or emotion. The second, third and fourth quarters, we didn't have it."

Oak Ridge didn't have an answer for St. Vincent's 6-foot-3 Jacob DeWilde, who scored nine of the Indians' first 11 points and led all scorers with 14 points.

Alex Armbruster added 13 points for the Indians.

Oak Ridge was led by Austin Morrison's 10 points.

ST. VINCENT 50, OAK RIDGE 34

St. Vincent 15 10 15 10 -- 50

Oak Ridge 16 0 7 11 -- 34

ST. VINCENT (50) -- Jacob DeWilde 14, Alex Armbruster 13, Pat Siegmund 7, Waylon Richardet 7, Danny Rellergert 4, Seth Amschler 2, Ben Buchheit 2, Jon Buehler 1. FG 18, FT 14-27, F 10 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

OAK RIDGE (34) -- Austin Morrison 10, Austin Hahs 7, Zach Buchheit 6, Brian Ruesler 5, Jon McMillan 4, Lance Felter 2. FG 13, FT 4-7, F 19 (3-pointers: Buchheit 2, Morrison 1, Ruesler 1. Fouled out: none)

Unbeaten Jackson rolls to eighth straight win

By Laura Villmer ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The second game of Saturday's inaugural Heartland Hoopfest started out as a nailbiter and ended up a runaway win.

Jackson rolled past DuQuoin, Ill., 62-23 at the Perry Park Center in Perryville to improve to 8-0.

DuQuoin (3-6) stayed close for eight minutes before Jackson pulled away in the second quarter. Jackson held DuQuoin without a point for the first five minutes of the period as part of a 21-1 run. DuQuoin finally scored a field goal with 1:46 left in the half and went to the locker room down 35-15.

DuQuoin scored just eight more points in the game and the last nine minutes were played with a running clock.

Jackson Coach Darrin Scott said a simple defensive adjustment made all the difference.

"We came out and defensively, things we had worked on in practice, they showed our weakness. Mainly their cutters and back screens, but we did a better job in the last three quarters," Scott said. "We extended our pressure and got them out of their half-court offense."

It didn't hurt that Jack Puisis was money in the first half. The 6-foot-1 senior guard scored all but two of his game-high 17 points in the first half.

Puisis was the only Jackson player to score in double digits, but six others contributed more than five points each.

Jackson was still without 6-8 senior Ryan Mirly, but Scott said he should be back next week.

"We thought he had broke his arm, but it turns out he has a sprained wrist," he said. "He'll be OK and should be ready for the Christmas tournament."

JACKSON 62, DU QUOIN 23

Jackson 14 21 19 8 -- 62

DuQuoin 12 3 7 1 -- 23

JACKSON (62) -- Jack Puisis 17, Tyler Beussink 8, Ryan Leet 7, Cody Cardwell 6, Drue McNeely 6, Tyler Grantham 6, Trey Stone 5, Aaron Redecker 4, Adam Ross 2, Eric Poythress 1. FG 22, FT 9-13, F 15 (3-pointers: Cardwell 2, Puisis 2, Beussink 2, Leet 1, McNeely 1, Stone 1. Fouled out: none)

DU QUOIN (23) -- Brandon Hirsch 6, Garrett Gross 6, Trenton McKinney 3, Kyle Tyner 3, Scot Anders 2, Bubba Harsy 2, Dee Williams 1. FG 8, FT 6-22, F 14 (3-pointers: McKinney 1. Fouled out: none)

St. Pius 62, Saxony 60

Saxony Lutheran led for almost all of the game and had better numbers on free throws and 3-pointers made, but the final number had St. Pius on top.

St. Pius didn't take a lead until just 2:09 remained in the game.

With 38 seconds left, Saxony's Casey Petzoldt connected to pull the Crusaders back within one, 60-61. St. Pius's Sam Modde made one of two free throws to give the Lancers a two-point lead with just 5 seconds remaining. A 3-point attempt by Saxony's Trey Maevers clanged off the back of the rim and out as the buzzer sounded.

Saxony fell to 4-1. St. Pius is 5-1.

"We knew it would be a dogfight," Saxony coach John Daniel said. "We went to double overtime with them last year. I expected it to come down to the end.

"I was really pleased with our effort. Anytime you go against a larger school and are able to compete, you can feel good."

Saxony Lutheran 15 20 13 12 -- 60

St. Pius X 15 18 12 17 -- 62

SAXONY LUTHERAN (60) -- Casey Petzoldt 18, Tim Lorenz 13, Trey Maevers 12, Lauren Lueders 8, Tyson Valleroy 3, Justin McCollum 2, Alex Jauch 2, Grant Lehmann 2. FG 23, FT 7-20, F 15 (3-pointers: Maevers 3, Lueders 2, Valleroy 1, Petzoldt 1. Fouled out: none)

ST. PIUS X (62) -- Scott Wensler 12, Cory Prindiville 12, Carlos Bisch 8, Andy Kennedy 8, Drew Horn 8, Brad Buehler 6, Sam Modde 5, Tyler Burke 3. FG 28, FT 5-12, F 20 (3-pointers: Burke 1. Fouled out: Prindiville)

Meadow Heights 97, Shawnee 69

Meadow Heights jumped to an early lead in the first game of the Hoopfest and survived a second-half comeback attempt to top Shawnee, Ill.

The Panthers led 48-24 at halftime. Shawnee cut the lead to 10 points entering the fourth quarter, 64-54.

Led by the hot shooting of Anthony Bollinger, Meadow Heights scored 33 points in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Bollinger led all scorers with 24 points, 10 of which came in the final quarter. Terry Wagner had 22 points. Joel Hahs added 14, Michael Collier scored 12, and Heath Fulton had 10.

Meadow Heights 27 21 16 33 -- 97

Shawnee 12 12 30 15 -- 69

MEADOW HEIGHTS (97) -- Anthony Bollinger 24, Terry Wagner 22, Joel Hahs 14, Michael Collier 12, Heath Fulton 10, Brian Miinch 7, David Krapoth 6, Nathan Revelle 2. FG 39, FT 9-11, F 14 (3-pointers: Bollinger 2, Hahs 2, Wagner 2, Collier 2, Krapoth 1, Miinch 1. Fouled out: none)

SHAWNEE (69) -- Lucas McMahan 18, Adam Clymer 12, Holden Webb 10, Chris Pulley 9, Bernard Richards 8, Blake Pinnon 5, Derek Moutell 4, Kyle Ellet 3. FG 29, FT 7-14, F 13 (3-pointers: McMahan 2, Ellet 1, Pulley 1. Fouled out: none)