Notre Dame boys basketball team rocks three-time defending tourney champs Scott County Central

The second-seeded Notre Dame Bulldogs and the third-seeded Scott County Central Braves were supposed to play the most competitive game of the night Thursday at the Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament.

Neither team got the memo.

Notre Dame steamrolled the Braves 76-39 in the second semifinal of the night to earn a chance at the top-seeded Charleston Bluejays in today's 8 p.m. championship game.

"We knew what we needed to do and we executed exactly what we needed to do," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "We wanted them to play a half-court game offensively and then we knew we could score inside on offense. Everybody played their role perfectly tonight."

The Bulldogs scored the game's first basket, led by 14 at the half and put away a lifeless SCC team in the second half.

The Notre Dame bench reacts after a basket against Scott County Central during the first quarter of their Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament semifinal Thursday. (Kristin Eberts)

"We didn't run our offense," Braves coach Kenyon Wright said. "We didn't move. Kids wanted to stand and settle on a jump shot instead of getting to the goal like we're supposed to. They didn't want to do that. They wanted to stand or drive through the lane and do something crazy."

The Bulldogs made it extremely difficult on the Braves from the beginning.

Notre Dame harassed SCC into 14 turnovers in the first half to slowly extend its lead.

"We knew they were faster than us, so we just tried to back off and slow the game down," Bulldogs guard Nathan Meystedt said. "Execute on defense, stay in front and give them space and it worked out."

Meystedt, a 5-foot-10 senior, scored a game-high 24 points on a variety of shots. He scored nine in the decisive third quarter.

Notre Dame's Demonte Farmer shoots over Scott County Central's Jaylen Porter as Notre Dame's Cody Heisserer ducks out of the way during the first quarter Thursday.

"I started off hitting a couple jumpers," Meystedt said. "Open jumpers off the press and got that going. I forced a couple shots I shouldn't have, but we worked it inside and slowed it down and got high-percentage shots. My teammates did a good job of pushing the ball up and we got a lot of run-out points just on the fast break, so I owe a lot to my teammates."

Meystedt was 11 of 18 from the field.

The senior wasn't the only one who stepped up for the Bulldogs.

Notre Dame received huge contributions from Jonathan Lynch, Joe Siebert and Cody Heisserer on the offensive end.

Lynch, a 5-9 guard, nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a 15-9 first-quarter lead and opened the second quarter with two triples in the first three minutes.

Heisserer and Siebert added a combined 24 points in the post.

"We started scoring inside and they kind of packed it in a little bit and they left Jon open for a couple 3s and he hit them," Roberts said. "When he gets confidence, he can shoot them. And Nathan just controlling that offense, looking for his chance to score and looking for other guys. And Joe and Cody played big, big basketball inside, so I was really pleased."

Notre Dame (6-4) extended its lead in the second quarter with stellar defense and easy run-outs.

The Braves (7-3) committed seven turnovers in the quarter, several unforced.

Notre Dame shut down the lane in the meantime.

"Contain [Dominique] Porter, make him shoot over us," Roberts said about the Bulldogs' game plan. "We knew that they wanted to put the ball on the floor and drive, and we took maybe four or five charges. Everybody helped each other out. We didn't really pressure that ball a whole bunch, but we forced a lot of turnovers just by the way we helped each other."

The defensive rebounds and easy run-outs led Notre Dame to a 38-24 halftime lead.

"We really tried transition and to focus a lot on defense and hit the boards hard and then trying to transition and turn it into offense," Lynch said. "Not let them set up in the press and try and get some run-outs if we could."

Notre Dame knew a 14-point halftime lead wasn't safe against the Braves.

But the Bulldogs left little doubt in the opening minutes of the third period.

Notre Dame went on an 8-2 run in the opening two minutes to gain a 46-26 advantage and put away the Braves.

"We've talked about letting teams back in the game, and we needed to put a team away," Roberts said. "The first three minutes of the third quarter are huge, and we kind of extended that lead to about 20 to 22 there and they kind of fell apart and we knew that we had them. Not letting them back in the game right off the bat was key."

The Braves had no answer for Notre Dame's relentless attack.

"We tried to stay on Meystedt a little bit and try and contain him some," Wright said. "That hurt us because Lynch came out and hit a couple 3s and another kid hit a 3. Our game plan didn't work out there in the first half like we hoped. We kind of backed off a little bit and tried to make sure they didn't go inside on us and it left a couple kids a little more open then we probably should have, but they stepped up and hit shots. It hurt us in the first half, and the second half we came out just not ready to play."

The Bulldogs had the majority of fans heading to the exits to begin the fourth with a running clock.

"It was a complete team effort," Meystedt said. "Everyone put in their own. It was a good job by everybody."

SCC 9 15 9 6 -- 39

Notre Dame 15 23 23 15 -- 76

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (39) -- Larandis Banks 2, Jaylen Porter 9, Dominique Porter 20, Kamryn Johnson 3, LaMarcus Steward 5. FG 15, FT 7-10, F 16. (3-pointers: J. Porter 1, Steward 1. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (76) -- Demonte Farmer 2, Jonathan Lynch 9, Jordan Reddin 10, Nathan Meystedt 24, Justin Landewee 5, Luck Mocherman 2, Joe Siebert 15, Cody Heisserer 9. FG 30, FT 10-13, F 13. (3-pointers: Lynch 3, Reddin 1, Meystedt 1, Siebert 1. Fouled out: none)