BULLDOGS BARK OUT ANSWERS IN OPENING WIN OVER TIGERS

It was a big answer for a team with a lot of questions.

Notre Dame, hit hard this season by graduation, opened its season with a 58-52 win Tuesday over Cape Central.

Not only was it a win, but it was a victory against a city rival -- a Class 4A opponent -- in the Tigers' gym.

Chris Janet seemed almost prepared for it.

"I told the kids after practice yesterday that anybody who didn't think we could beat Central, don't show up for the game," said the Notre Dame coach. "I went to the lockerroom before the game and they were all there, so I knew that they thought they could do this. They believed in themselves.

"For our first game of the year, it's a really big win. First, it's hard to beat Central, period. Then with the lack of experience and all the question marks we had, to beat Cape Central is a big step for us."

Notre Dame turned over its first two possessions, but sharp shooting made up the difference from there. The Bulldogs shot 58 percent from the field, finding many of its shots from underneath the basket. Notre Dame outscored Central in all but the second quarter.

The Tigers' shooting left Central struggling to find an offensive niche -- they shot slightly over 30 percent (23-of-68) from the field, but only 4-of-16 in the fourth quarter.

It wasn't the opening night performance first-year coach Brett Reutzel was looking for.

"We just had too many people taking bad shots," said Reutzel. "There were times we'd come down in the first half, make one pass and fire away. I tell them at practice that I want them to feel some freedom out there, but tonight was too much. They weren't taking really good, smart shots.

"It really is a long season, and a lot of times you play that first game just to see exactly where you are. We'll go back to practice now and know what to work on."

The teams traded baskets through much of the first half; Notre Dame led 15-11 after one quarter, but Central went up 26-25 at the half on a buzzer-beating shot by Nathan Owen.

Down 37-35, Notre Dame took the lead for good on a three-point shot by Chris Canfield with 2:51 left in the third quarter. It was 45-41 going into the fourth.

The biggest run by either team was a 7-0 streak -- all on free throws -- by Notre Dame through the final minutes of the game. Aron Meystedt's 3-pointer cut into Notre Dame's 10-point lead and made it 57-50 with 20 seconds left, and Owen hit two of three free throw attempts with 9.2 seconds to play for a 57-52 game.

But Notre Dame, despite a mostly-inexperienced varsity lineup, shot 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to ice the win.

"We had a lot of seniors on the floor, but they're seniors who didn't really get a lot of playing time last year because of all those other seniors we had then," said Janet. "But we had guys tonight who looked like veterans. They looked very stable, very comfortable in what they were doing."

Three seniors finished in double figures for Notre Dame. Nathan McGuire had 17 -- including three 3-pointers before halftime -- Dirk Dirnberger 15, and Canfield 14.

Owen's 14 led Central, while Lavelle Lewis had 10.

"I think we have the makings of a good basketball team," said Reutzel, whose team hosts DeSoto on Friday. "I really believe that.

"But I feel like some of the kids need to understand what it takes. They have to play harder and make some sacrifices to achieve that. But this can be a very good team."