Bulldogs encounter first loss of season

~ Notre Dame's boys suffered an 83-61 loss to Sikeston.

Notre Dame's boys basketball team could not have played much worse in the first half Friday night against district and conference foe Sikeston.

The Bulldogs (5-1) could not buy a jump shot, they missed easy shots and when they created turnovers, they could not capitalize. That poor play led to a 45-25 halftime deficit, which ultimately doomed the Bulldogs in an 83-61 loss.

"We had our chances, we just had a poor shooting first half," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said.

Sikeston (5-2) jumped out of the gate with a 12-2 lead. Notre Dame had just three points over the first 7 minutes of the game and did not hit a shot from more than 5 feet away in the opening quarter. Turnovers by Sikeston helped keep the score reasonably close at 15-7 after one quarter.

Notre Dame's poor shooting extended into the second quarter, and Sikeston was more than ready to take advantage. With both teams exchanging fouls throughout the game -- both teams had more than 20 fouls and the teams combined for 59 free throw attempts -- Sikeston expanded its lead thanks to strong free-throw shooting.

Sikeston hit 15 of 17 free throws in the opening half and 26 of 30 overall. Notre Dame hit just seven of 15 in the opening half and 14 of 29 overall.

"We usually shoot free throws pretty well," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "I think we have a chance to be a really good free-throw shooting team. That's one of our strengths, I think."

Thanks to 12 points from Rod Moore and nine from Ray Rogers, both post players, Sikeston built a 20-point halftime lead.

Hale said his team's poor shooting performance basically put the lead out of reach by halftime.

"The game was over at halftime, but our goal was to beat them in the second half and we could have if we hadn't missed those free throws at the end," Hale said.

Notre Dame's offense was more efficient in the second half, matching Sikeston basket for basket. Brandon Holzum hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Notre Dame finished with five 3s in the second half.

"They have a lot of character," Holifield said of Notre Dame. "We knew they wouldn't go away."

Even with a spark from the outside, Notre Dame could not get any closer than 16 points. Sikeston led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter, and thanks to a 3-point play from Kash Bratcher in the final seconds, Sikeston was able to push the final margin over 20. Sikeston outscored Notre Dame 38-36 in the second half.

Moore finished with 20 points for Sikeston, Julian Beard had 19 and Bratcher scored 13. Scott County Central products Isaac Porter, Rogers and Michael Porter combined for 26 points.

Holifield said the team's new faces have really gelled well so far.

"This entire group, they play well together," he said. "As a team they're getting better every day. I like our team chemistry right now."

Alex Ressel led Notre Dame with 22 points. Ryan Willen added 11 points.

The win for Sikeston could give it an early edge for the top seed in the Class 4 District 1 tournament, as Sikeston and Notre Dame are likely the top two teams in the district.

Hale said district seeding was not something he was thinking about entering the game.

"It really doesn't mean anything," Hale said. "There's not much difference between [Nos.] 1 and 2. You have to beat them all anyway."

Notre Dame 83, Sikeston 61

Sikeston 15 30 22 16 -- 83

Notre Dame 7 18 24 12 -- 61

SIKESTON (83) -- Rod Moore 20, Julian Beard 19, Kash Bratcher 13, Isaac Porter 13, Ray Rogers 9, Michael Porter 4, Blake Taylor 5. FG 27, FT 26-30, F 24 (3-pointers: Beard 2, Bratcher 1. Fouled out: I. Porter)

NOTRE DAME (61) -- Alex Ressel 22, Ryan Willen 11, Xavier Delph 8, Brandon Holzum 6, Jacob Essner 6, Abe Dirnberger 2, Ty Williams 3, Kirk Boeller 1, Logan Haines 2. FG 21, FT 14-29, F 23 (3-pointers: Essner 2, Holzum 2, Delph 1. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Notre Dame 57, Sikeston 53