Father, son meet when ND faces Farmington

~ The Hales cross paths in a Class 4 sectional; Jackson begins Class 5 quest against Lindbergh.

It took a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Notre Dame's boys basketball team to slip into the sectional round.

The Bulldogs now have a chance to take advantage of their good fortune when they face Farmington at 6 p.m. today at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo.

"We all feel very fortunate to have won," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said. "This is another game. I hope we can come out and forget about that game and think about this game. I think we will."

Farmington (18-10) had its own close call in the district finals, edging state-ranked De Soto by one point. De Soto was a heavy favorite in the game, but Hale is not so sure the better team didn't win.

"I'm not sure Farmington's not the best team [from that district]," Hale said. "They play extremely hard, harder than any team we've played."

The game will have an interesting subplot, with Hale's son, Brett Hale, coaching on the Farmington sidelines. Brett Hale, a former player at Southeast Missouri State, was an assistant for the Bulldogs last year. Brett Hale was also a standout player at Dexter, where he was coached by his dad.

"He told me, 'you know we're trying to beat you,'" Paul Hale said. "There's no father-son love there. He wants to beat us."

Notre Dame (24-4) should have an advantage inside with 6-foot-7 junior Ryan Willen, who leads the Bulldogs in scoring at more than 22 points a game.

"We're hoping we can exploit that," Paul Hale said. "I'm concerned about trying to get back down the court."

The Black Knights go about nine deep and will look to run. Notre Dame also likes to push the ball up the court, and defensively the Bulldogs feature full-court pressure.

"I tell you they can get up and down the floor better than any team we've played," Paul Hale said. "They run the floor better than we do."

Even though Farmington should have some insight into Notre Dame's game plan with Brett Hale on the coaching staff, the Bulldogs will not deviate from what has made them successful. Notre Dame has won 46 games the last two years, making the state final four two years ago in Paul Hale's first season at Notre Dame.

The Bulldogs enter the game having won 11 straight games. Of the Bulldogs' four losses, three have come against state-ranked Charleston and the other to Class 5 District 1 champion Jackson.

"We're not going to do anything different,"Paul Hale said. "We hope we can press them. I'm not sure we can."

One weapon the Bulldogs will not be able to slip by the Black Knights is junior reserve Mark Himmelberg, who hit six 3-pointers against Sikeston in the district finals.

"They have the tape, they saw him shoot," Paul Hale said. "I'm sure when he comes in the game they'll know about it."

Jackson vs. Lindbergh

In Class 5, Jackson (21-7) is making its first trip to the sectional since 1998. The Indians will face Lindbergh (16-11) at 6 p.m. at the Farmington Civic Center.

Jackson had to survive a big second-half rally from Hillsboro in the district finals. Hillsboro outscored Jackson 49-28 in the second half, but Jackson was able to hold off the comeback after allowing just eight first-half points.

"We haven't finished a few games extremely well, at least the way we'd like, but we've won those games," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "But you have to give Hillsboro credit. They played with a lot of confidence."

Senior guard Robert Williams leads Lindbergh in scoring at 12 a game, and 6-foot-6 Tyler Kiel is averaging more than 10 a game. Both players were all-conference.

Jackson has four players averaging double figures. Junior guard Jake Leet averages 18 points, 6-foot-6 Spencer Goodman averages 12 points, 6-5 Antonio Garritano averages 11 points and 6-5 Hunter Grantham averages 10 points.

"Overall they've got good quickness and athletic ability," Scott said. "We have a little more overall size. They have more quickness. I think it will be important on defense for us to play smart and hard, and offensively use our size and screen."

After playing through several injuries during the first half of the season, Jackson finally had its key players on the court for the much of the second half. Goodman, one of the top players from last season, took a while to round into form after missing a good chunk of the early schedule.

The Indians have won 12 of their last 13 games. They have only lost three times since the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

"I think we've gotten more into a niche of our roles, who does what well," Scott said. "Our key is just to have five guys playing together as a team and take advantage of the mismatches we have."

With only two seniors on their roster, the Indians look like they should have a good chance to start a run of playoff success. Jackson has not made the state final four since 1934.

"Being a junior-dominated class people say, 'get some experience, you always have next year,'" Scott said. "That's something they can't talk about because you're not guaranteed anything. They have a good opportunity, and they have to take advantage of it."