Notre Dame boys basketball team converts free throws to fend off Poplar Bluff 58-51

Poplar Bluff's deliberate style befuddled Notre Dame's offense Friday.

The Bulldogs struggled to find any flow against the Mules.

"They just played great pressure defense, man-to-man," Notre Dame senior Nathan Meystedt said. "Kept us out of a rhythm. The whole game we were out of our focus, couldn't get anything going. A good pressure team and very athletic and forced bad shots and got us out of our element on offense."

Notre Dame managed to hit its free throws late to scrape together just enough offense for a 58-51 win on senior night.

"We definitely didn't want to lose our last home game since we had all five seniors that start," Meystedt said. "We wanted to end the season on a good note. Even though it didn't come out that we played the best we could, a win's a win at this point in the season."

Notre Dame's Ryan Hale drives past Poplar Bluff's Zach Sexton during the second half Friday. (BRIAN ROSENER ~ Daily American Republic)

The Bulldogs only hit 18 field goals and shot 37 percent (18 of 49) from the field.

"They guarded the ball very well," Notre Dame senior Jonathan Lynch said. "They stayed down in front and they help each other out a lot. When we were trying on screens, they'd switch it."

Notre Dame's answer to its offensive struggles was to attack the basket in the hopes of drawing contact.

"We were definitely off tonight, so we said if we can hit some free throws and just get through the fourth quarter," Meystedt said. "We started attacking and trying to concentrate and hit them at the line."

The Bulldogs went 11 of 16 from the line in the fourth quarter, which was an improvement over their 1-of-5 performance in the first half. Meystedt went 8 of 10, while Lynch converted 6 of 8 in the second half.

"That's something that we've done in the Scott County game, Jackson game, Cape game is when it comes down to the end, when we get fouled, we step up and big players make big shots like Nathan," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said.

The Bulldogs (18-5) never could gain separation from the Mules (7-14). The teams traded the lead 10 times in the first half.

Kendric McCain's basket pulled Poplar Bluff even at 40-40 with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left in the contest. Notre Dame's defense helped provide a sliver of breathing room when the Mules turned over the ball on five consecutive possessions after McCain's bucket, which allowed Notre Dame to go ahead 46-40.

"We kind of sagged off a little bit, tried to force them into some traps and we got some traps at half court," Meystedt said. "That kind of gave us the spurt that we needed."

But the Mules refused to surrender. They got within four with 1:38 left on a basket by Michael Griggs, and they had a chance to get even closer but turned over the ball.

Notre Dame went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line over the final minute to seal the win.

Poplar Bluff's defense did an excellent job of slowing down Meystedt, Notre Dame's leading scorer. He scored a team-high 13 points, but he went 2 of 10 from the field.

"What happened was they denied him everywhere and forced somebody else to beat them. We just rely on him so much and he couldn't get open," Roberts said. "The shots he took were altered or blocked, and we kind of got in a lull there."

The Bulldogs went 5 of 9 (56 percent) from 3-point range in the first half but 0 of 7 in the second half.

"What we were doing is trying to rush things," Roberts said. "We've got to be patient. Throw the ball inside and work inside out. We ended up being a 3-point shooting team there for a while, which is not what we do well. It took us some time, but eventually we got some good looks."

The Bulldogs play at Farmington and De Soto this week before Class 4 District 1 play begins.

Poplar Bluff 9 15 12 15 -- 51

Notre Dame 11 15 13 19 -- 58

POPLAR BLUFF (51) -- Lance Gray 4, Joseph Eyler 2, Kendric McCain 16, Michael Griggs 13, Stacy Gipson 10, Lucas Tibbs 2, Ryan Brittingham 2, Brandon Stuckenschneider 2. FG 20, FT 9-13, F 20. (3-pointers: McCain 1, Griggs 1. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (58) -- Cody Heisserer 2, Jordan Reddin 10, Patrick Williamson 2, Jonathan Lynch 12, Ryan Hale 4, Nathan Meystedt 13, Joe Siebert 9, Quinn Poythress 6. FG 18, FT 17-27, F 13. (3-pointers: Lynch 2, Hale 1, Poythress 2. Fouled out: none)