Notre Dame boys basketball team set to face Westminster in Class 4 quarterfinal

Unselfish play has lifted the Notre Dame boys basketball team into the state quarterfinals.

Quinn Poythress and Tanner Shively are each averaging double figures in scoring this postseason for the Bulldogs, who will take on Westminster Christian Academy at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Farmington Civic Center in Farmington, Missouri, with a bid to the Class 4 final four on the line.

"I think the thing that makes this group so special is that it's not always the same person that steps up, and that's not a problem for this group," Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner said. "They don't worry about who's going to step up. They just know that someone will. Obviously, other teams key on Quinn, and I think where we have an advantage over a lot of teams is that even if teams key on Quinn, we have a lot good players around him that can score the basketball."

Most of the attention entering Tuesday night's sectional surrounded Potosi's Dylan Coleman, but it was Poythress who took over. The 6-foot-7 senior scored a game-high 32 points to lead Notre Dame (25-4) to a 72-49 victory.

"Quinn had just a truly special game that night, offensively especially, and then he had some nice blocks and defended the rim really well," Unterreiner said. "... His points come so quietly. It's almost like we're just kind of expecting to see it every night, and that's a shame because we shouldn't take away from how special offensively he's been playing for us. When you see him playing at that level, it just gives those other guys around him just such a calmness."

Shively, a senior, is scoring an average of 13 points per game this postseason for the Bulldogs, while sophomore Blake Bauwens (9.6 ppg) and senior Dean Crippen (8.3 ppg) have also been key contributors.

Size isn't an issue for Westminster (24-5), which has nine players who are 6-foot or taller.

"Most of the films we have are of them playing against man-to-man. That's not necessarily what we run. We finally got our hands on some film of them playing against a team that played zone, so we kind of got an idea of what they look for against a zone," Unterreiner said. "Defensively, they get after it man-to-man, and they'll throw a little bit of zone at you. But they really seem to hedge and double-team our ball screens, so we're going to work on that this week and get prepared."

The Wildcats are led by 6-2 junior guard Aaron Cook, who's averaging 15 points per game this season.

"He's a heck of a player," Unterreiner said about Cook. "He'll be one of the best players we go against all year. He runs the point for them. ... The good thing about us is we've played against players like him -- [New Madrid County Central senior guard] Willie Jimerson, [Central junior guard] Al Young, [Charleston senior guard] Delfincko Bogan. When you go against guys like that, who I think have to be some of the best guards in the state, hopefully we'll see a familiar foe when we go up against Cook."

Cliff Degroot, a 6-2 sophomore guard, is scoring 10 points per game this season for Westminster. The Wildcats also have a pair of towering seniors in Brendan Bognar (6-6) and Matt Weber (6-7).

Westminster is ranked No. 10 in the latest Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll, which was released in the last week of February. Notre Dame is ninth.

"I think they play similar to us a little bit," Unterreiner said. "They've got one guy who averages a lot of their points, but then they've got some good shooters out there. Cook does a good job creating for them. They've got some really good spot-up shooters. The group can shoot with the best of them."

Unterreiner said he expects Bauwens, who tweaked his back in the district final, to contribute again on Saturday. Bauwens had two points and four assists in the first half of Tuesday's sectional, and Unterreiner said he was fortunate to be able to rest Bauwens in the second half.

"He didn't play after I took him out in the third quarter, so it was really a great opportunity," Unterreiner said. "I thought Ross [Essner], Brendan [Boswell] and Trenton [Schumer] really stepped up at guard on Tuesday night and really gave us a great opportunity to rest Blake."

The winner will take on either Rolla or Hillcrest in a state semifinal at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.