Johnson scores 39 as Notre Dame knocks of Kelly in C3D2 semis

Jeremy Brinkmeyer went to Kelly after being an assistant coach at Notre Dame to coach the Hawks for two years before returning to run the Bulldogs this year.

The fates of his current team and the seniors he once coached collied in the Class 3 District 2 semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 22, with the Bulldogs winning 69-59 and advancing to the C3D2 title game on Saturday, Feb. 24.

While it was a monumental win for Notre Dame, it was bittersweet for Brinkmeyer, who had to be the one to close the careers of the seniors he once coached as juniors.

"I don't know why God crossed our paths," Brinkmeyer said. "I want nothing but success for those young men. I'm proud and I'm glad I coached Notre Dame but I love those young men on the other side and to see them hurt, it's just never a great feeling. They're great kids and they deserve the success they had this year and I'm happy for the success that they had. I just wish that we didn't have to cross paths in the postseason.

Dalton Forck led the Hawks with 22 points. Michael Dollins added 17 points and Ross Peters chipped in 14 points. Reece Eftink (4) and Canon Kirkpatrick (2) rounded out the scoring for Kelly, who will be saying goodbye to eight seniors, much of whom were a part of two 20+ win teams.

"I don't wish, and I wish at the same time, that Ross was the same age as those kids so they could all go out together as a group because they played phenomenal all year long," Kelly head coach Noel Trimmer said.

Notre Dame junior Kolton Johnson was the star of the show. He was one free throw away from 40 points. He made six three-point baskets, and seven mid-range shots and was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

"He's gotten more comfortable with me," Brinkmeyer said. "We kept telling him to shoot it and it took a little bit for him to trust that I wanted him to shoot it. In the last month and a half, he's starting to believe me."

Johnson set the tone with 11 of the Bulldogs' 17 first-quarter points. In the second quarter, he left the scoring to Brent Dohogne, who put up eight of his 12 points to help give the Bulldogs a 32-30 halftime lead.

"He's just done a phenomenal job of looking for his shot but also, he made some really great passes [Thursday]," Brinkmeyer said. "He's got a great offensive rebound, he laid out on the floor, he played great defense."

Johnson took over in the second half by scoring 28 points as the Bulldogs outscored the Hawks 37-29 in the final two quarters. with 16 of the Bulldogs' 18 fourth-quarter points coming from Johnson, he seemingly singlehandedly put the Hawks' season to bed.

He's more than just a shooter," Brinkmeyer said. "He's doing so much for us in a lot of different points of the game. I just can't speak highly enough for him."

Kelly's (21-6) season ends with the most wins and the highest offensive output (66.4 PPG) in recent program history. With Peters being the lone returning starter next year, Trimmer is expecting an immense increase in production from him.

"Ross is going to have to step up next year and be that guy," Trimmer said. "Ross is gonna be the team captain next year and he's gonna have to come out every night and he's probably going to have to provide more stats. He's gonna have to be like Johnson."

Notre Dame (13-15) will take on Charleston (13-14) for the district title on Saturday, Feb 24. It will be the fourth matchup between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays. Charleston opened the season with a win and beat the Bulldogs in the SEMO Conference Tournament. Notre Dame struck back with a third-place victory in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

The top-seeded Blue Jays knocked off Scott City 71-61 in the semifinals on Thursday. Ko'Terrion Owens scored a game-high 25 points. Tayshon Clark scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Treshaun Schandon and Zachyran Thomas each scored 10 points.

"You come to Notre Dame to play the best and be in these situations," Brinkmeyer said. "Charleston is a great team. Jamarcus [Williams] should be Coach of the Year. He's done a phenomenal job with Charleston."

If Charleston wins on Saturday, it would continue the Blue Jays' streak of 14 straight district titles, a run that includes six final four appearances and two state championships.

If Notre Dame wins, it will be their first district championship since 2020.