ND BOYS REACH DISTRICT FINAL

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Notre Dame used a strong third quarter and a strong inside game to knock off Scott City 58-51 in the semifinals of the Class 2A, District 2 Tournament.

The Bulldogs (20-8) outscored the Rams 22-10 in the third quarter and Notre Dame held 6-foot-7 center Nick Steimle to just five points through the first three quarters. He ended up with 13.

"Early, we put (Jonathan) Ressel on him and he banked in a 3-pointer," said Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott. "But Jonathan never let him get in a rhythm or get open looks."

"When you're not shooting well from the perimeter, that enables them to collapse the middle," said Scott City coach Derek McCord.

Ressel, meanwhile, led all scorers with 19 points, including 12 in the second half.

Notre Dame used its height to its advantage and got the ball inside early and often. The Bulldogs outscored Scott City 18-6 from the foul line and outrebounded Scott City 38-28.

Scott was especially impressed with how his Bulldogs defended.

"I thought going in that Scott City would pass three or four times and I thought we had to defend three or four passes then challenge the shot," he said. "And I think we did that."

"We struggled shooting the ball," McCord said. "I felt like we did a good job defensively and that kept us in the game. We did a good job defensively other than keeping them off the foul line. You can't guard free throws."

Notre Dame started to pull away in the third quarter. It took a 39-30 lead with 2:23 when Tyler Cuba hit a mid-range jumper.

Moments later, Notre Dame took a 43-30 lead after a conventional 3-point play where Ressel scored a transition basket and an intentional foul was called on Scott City. The Bulldogs added two more points and took a commanding 45-30 lead into the fourth quarter.

Scott City sliced its deficit to single digits, 46-38, with four minutes left when Michael O'Brien scored from underneath, but that's as close as the Rams would come until they cut the margin to 58-51 with 10 seconds left. For the most part, Notre Dame protected the ball, played smart basketball and made its free throws down the stretch.

Craig Jungers, a 5-foot-8 point guard, came through with a big game for Scott City. Knocking down one tough jumper after another, Jungers led Scott City with 16 points. Ben Sample scored 10.

Notre Dame took an 11-7 lead into the second quarter, thanks to a buzzer-beating putback by Cory Beussink. The Bulldogs, who outrebounded Scott City 16-6 in the first quarter, finished the first period on a 9-2 run during a span which Scott City missed four consecutive 3-point attempts.

Scott City came back in the second quarter on two consecutive threes by Ben Sample and Craig Jungers and led 13-11 with 5:40 to go in the first half. Jungers, less than a minute later, hit a third three to put Scott City up 16-13. Jungers had 10 points in the first half, but the Bulldogs remained consistent and took a 23-20 lead into halftime on a 12-foot jumper by Cuba at the buzzer.