ND GETS `SAMPLE' OF RAMS' DEPTH

When you think of the Scott City High boys basketball team, the names Jon Beck and Tim Lowery immediately come to mind.

And, of course, fan favorite Howie Stubenrauch can't be forgotten.

But Luke Sample?

After unloading four 3-pointers and a career-high 20 points against Notre Dame Friday night in a 72-53 victory, Sample's name can now be added to the list of offensive threats the Rams possess.

"Coach got me some playing time and I got in there and did my job," said Sample. "When I get in there he wants me to shoot, so I did and (the shots) fell."

"Luke did a tremendous job shooting the basketball and handling pressure," said Scott City coach Derek McCord. "That's what's been good about this team ... we've had different people step up throughout the season."

The victory -- in front of a packed home crowd -- improved the state-ranked Rams to 14-1, solidifying their spot as the sixth-ranked team in Class 2A. Notre Dame, coming off an emotional last-second upset of Kelly last Friday, fell to 5-6.

"We knew this would be a tough place to play and we played pretty poorly," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet candidly. "We picked a bad night to play one of our poorest games."

Scott City never trailed, taking a 22-11 first-quarter lead before Sample even hit the floor. When the Bulldogs switched to a zone defense late in the first quarter, McCord got the 5-11 junior on the court to start the second quarter.

"He's a real 'zone buster' and Notre Dame going to a zone was a good opportunity to get Luke in there," McCord said. "We told him before the game to be ready because we knew they played some zone and he came up big. We know he can knock the shots down; pressure doesn't bother him."

Sample drained his first shot of the game -- a 3-pointer -- to start the quarter and give the Rams a 25-11 cushion.

"That sparked it right there," said Sample. "As soon as I hit that (first shot), I knew I was going to be on."

Sample led the Rams with seven points in the quarter as they pulled ahead 40-28 at halftime. He appeared to feed off the huge crowd that packed the Scott City gym.

"Anytime you have that many fans it's just great," said Sample. "It gives you so much energy when you're out on the court; you can feed off that. I wish it was like this every game."

Sample played sparingly in the third quarter, but played most of the fourth quarter -- scoring 10 points -- to lead Scott City's scorers. Beck, the Rams' most notorious scorer, scored 19 points and Lowery added 10.

Jason Rubel played a rugged game inside for Notre Dame, scoring a team-high 16 points. Zach Miller added 12 points and Michael Wehner scored 11.

"We played right into (Scott City's) hands," said Janet. "We insisted on not running any offense and playing uptempo. That's not the way we wanted to play against this team."

Trailing 52-40 entering the fourth quarter, Scott City put the game away with a 17-6 run to take its biggest lead of the game (69-46) with 2:01 left. The Bulldogs shot 45 percent (24-53) from the floor, while the Rams shot 47 percent (30-64).