'DOGS MANAGE TO WRESTLE WIN FROM INDIANS; ND WINS PHYSICAL CONTEST 65-60

St. Vincent of Perryville went with its strength -- its physical strength -- but rival Notre Dame proved a little stronger overall and outlasted the Indians in a physical contest on Tuesday 65-60.

St. Vincent (2-6), a school which has made a name for itself on the gridiron and features many football players on the basketball team, battled a depleted Notre Dame (6-5) squad throughout.

The Indians brought the game as close as a point, 52-51, with 5:58 left, but never led in the final three and a half quarters.

"It was a battle," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet. "It was a war out there at times. They're a football school; they had a bunch of football players out there, so they always play very physical. St. Vincent always gets fired up to play us."

Notre Dame suffered a major casualty early in the game. Senior Dirk Dirnberger, a 6-foot-6 senior and one of the area's top players, suffered an ankle injury with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. Dirnberger was taken to a local hospital for X-rays.

The Bulldogs were without another starter who will miss the rest of the season due to academic reasons.

In Dirnberger's absence, Notre Dame went to its youth and had three sophomores on the floor at times. Two sophomores in particular, Zach Miller and Jason Rubel, made major contributions for the Bulldogs.

Miller provided some perimeter shooting as he led the Bulldogs with 13 points and Rubel, at 6-4, made up some of the rebounding slack with Dirnberger out.

"Zach Miller really stepped up and did some good things," said Janet. "He made a couple big shots for us, and Rubel got several rebounds for us and made a couple of key buckets. It's good to see those kinds of kids do the job."

Also for Notre Dame, Chris Canfield had 12 points and Nick Dannenmueller added 11. St. Vincent's Jonathan Wengert led all scorers with 20 points and Cissell added 13.

St. Vincent played well early and led the first four minutes of the game. Notre Dame's Dirnberger then got hot and scored six points before suffering the injury and the Bulldogs led 17-13 entering the second quarter.

Leading 31-26 after halftime, Notre Dame hit six of its first seven shots to start the second half and led 43-30 with 5:35 left in the third quarter. Miller was key in the third quarter for the Bulldogs as he scored eight points.

St. Vincent stayed within seven points throughout the fourth quarter, but never tied the game. Notre Dame made five of eight free throws in the final 1:23.

The Indians trailed by only four points, 64-60, with 30 seconds left in the game. Notre Dame went on to commit two turnovers in the last half minute, but St. Vincent couldn't capitalize.

"We always battled back and got within two or three, but we just could never get the lead," said St. Vincent coach Bruce Valleroy.

Notre Dame won the junior varsity contest 53-38.

Notre Dame re3turns to action on Friday at Kelly.