Notre Dame boys basketball team routs Central 64-42

The SEMO Conference boys basketball madness didn't end Tuesday night.

It's only getting crazier.

Notre Dame used a 16-0 run in the second quarter and coasted to a 64-42 win over host Central, adding even more intrigue for what's bound to be an exciting Class 4, District 1 tournament next month.

"I think it's a big win just for the team's mindset, and it's a big win against a district opponent. Everybody's fighting for that No. 1 seed," Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner said. "We didn't talk about that before the game, but I told those guys after the game in the locker room that this is a big win for us, as far as district seeding is concerned."

Senior Quinn Poythress accounted for half of the Bulldogs' eight 3-pointers. He finished with a game-high 33 points and shot 12 of 16 (75 percent) from the floor, including 4 of 5 (80 percent) from 3-point range.

"That's about all we can ask of him. ... Offensively, he's just kind of been tuned in lately," Unterreiner said. "I'd like to see him get inside more and score some easier buckets because he was hitting some mid-range shots and 3s tonight, which is fine. If he's going to get that shot, we're going to live and die by that shot.

"I'm just a firm believer that his defense leads to his offense. When he's blocking shots and he's active on the defensive end, he seems to really get into the game and be focused on offense."

Blake Bauwens hit a trey at the 7:30 mark of the first quarter to score the first points of the game for Notre Dame (16-4, 4-2), but Central (15-5, 1-2) responded as Al Young scored on back-to-back layups to cap a 9-0 run for the Tigers, who led by six points with 5:15 left in the period before Unterreiner called a timeout to allow his team to regroup.

Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner instructs players during the third quarter against Cape Central Tuesday, feb. 3, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

"They kind of punched us in the mouth," Unterreiner said. "I called that timeout to kind of see how we would react, and I just couldn't tell you how proud I am with how we responded to getting down early."

The Bulldogs rattled off seven consecutive points to regain the lead, and Brendan Boswell hit a 3-pointer from the left side of the arc just inside the final minute of the quarter, giving Notre Dame a 13-11 advantage at the end of the period.

"They played great. They shot it well. It was just kind of their night," Central coach Drew Church said. "We didn't play particularly well, but a lot of that was because of what they did. It was just one of those games. It's not necessarily a bad thing. I think this is a game that we kind of needed to redirect ourselves and kind of know what we need to get better on going forward."

Andre Statam drained a 3-pointer on the Tigers' first possession of the second quarter, but Poythress scored the first of three consecutive shots to spark a 16-0 run. He also capped the run with a 3-pointer at the 1:02 mark of the quarter before Peyton Montgomery knocked down a trey to cut Notre Dame's lead to 29-17 at halftime.

"We felt like if we got a significant lead, we were going to try to not just hold on to it but to push it," Poythress said.

Cape Central's Andre Statam and Notre Dame's Blake Bauwens look to pull down a rebound after a free throw attempt in the fourth quarter Tuesday, feb. 3, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

The Tigers turned the ball over seven times in the second quarter, during which they were held to only six points.

"I think we stood a lot on offense, and that's tough, especially against a matchup. If you stand, you're easy to guard. I thought we stood a lot, especially in the first half, and by the time we were ready to drive, they were in help defense," Church said. "We've got to do a better job of that, moving on offense. But they guarded well. They're a physical team."

Statam knocked down four free throws to pull the Tigers to within 10 points at the 5:55 mark of the third quarter, but Notre Dame continued to push.

Poythress hit a jumper from the right side to cap a 12-3 run for the Bulldogs, who extended their lead to 43-24 with 2:11 to go in the period. He scored 10 points in the quarter on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, including a 3-pointer that gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 46-29 lead heading into the final period.

"When they've got four or give guys in that can shoot it, you've got to respect it," Church said. "That kind of opens up drives and takes away some of your help. They played extremely well. We didn't."

Poythress also had four blocks. Unterreiner said his players' improvement on defense has been a key to his team's success this season.

"We've got some guys -- [Trenton] Schumer, [Thomas] Himmelberg and Poythress -- who are going to block a lot of shots. They're long, and until this year, they haven't really blocked a lot of shots," Unterreiner said. "I just kind of looked at those guys and said, 'Just come out from the weak side and block shots. If your other guy gets beat, go help him out.' Sometimes it hurts you because they get the offensive rebound and put it back, but tonight I felt like we secured a lot of those blocks. We're starting to realize that we're going to block a lot of shots, and our guards have to be ready to get some of those rebounds."

Central shot 14 of 48 (29 percent) from the field, while Notre Dame finished 22 of 50 (44 percent), including 8 of 17 (47 percent) from behind the arc.

"We've got a bunch of good shooters on this team. I don't care if we're shooting a lot of 3s because we're going to make a lot of 3s, but it's all about what kind of 3s we're shooting," Unterreiner said. "We only took a few bad 3s tonight. When we get those 3s from inside-out, that's when we play really good and make a lot of shots. Once we started getting the ball inside, that's when those shots started falling."

The outcome of Tuesday's game only adds to the parity of this year's regular-season conference race.

"That's what you're going to get in the SEMO Conference. That's why it's one of the best conferences in the state," Church said. "If you don't show up every night just ready to play your best basketball, you're going to get beat."

"On any given night, anybody can beat anybody," Poythress said. "... We've just got to bring it every night and be ready to go."

Notre Dame 13 16 17 18 -- 64

Central 11 6 12 13 -- 42

NOTRE DAME (64) -- Quinn Poythress 33, Grant Ressel 7, Trenton Schumer 7, Brandon Boswell 6, Tanner Shively 6, Blake Bauwens 3, Nick Bradshaw 2. FG 22-50, FT 12-17, F 16. (3-pointers: Poythress 4, Boswell 2, Bauwens 1, Ressel 1. Fouled out: None.)

CENTRAL (42) -- Peyton Montgomery 9, Andre Statam 9, Nikylus Thompson 7, Al Young 5, Blake Harris 4, Chase Hagerty 4, Kway'Chon Chisom 4. FG 14-48, FT 9-16, F 17. (3-pointers: Montgomery 3, Thompson 1, Statam 1. Fouled out: Young.)

JV -- Central won 48-41