Notre Dame boys basketball team upends Potosi in Class 4 sectional

JACKSON -- Coming into Tuesday night's Class 4 boys basketball sectional against Potosi, Notre Dame had clear advantages in both size and depth.

The Bulldogs took advantage of both in rolling to a 72-49 victory over the Trojans at the Jackson Events Center, earning a berth in Saturday's state quarterfinals in Farmington.

Quinn Poythress scored a game-high 32 points, dominating inside and out as the Bulldogs improved to 25-4 on the season.

"The way we're coming together as a family, I didn't think we could play together more as a team than we have the last two nights," Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner said. "That's a testament to the character of the guys I've got."

Potosi (20-8) simply had no answer for Notre Dame's high-low game, which continually freed the 6-foot-7 Poythress inside for easy layups. And when the Notre Dame senior decided to pass out of the post, his teammates responded. Senior forward Trenton Schumer added 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in a decisive third-quarter run, and senior guard Tanner Shively added 12 points.

"That's the thing that makes me the proudest as coach of this team," Unterreiner said of his squad's unselfish play. "Our assist numbers are gonna be outrageous tonight. We went high-low all day. Quinn really distributed the ball well to Dean (Crippen) and Tanner, Tanner went to Dean and Quinn. And our guards were unselfish. They didn't care if they weren't shooting 3s, they would dump it in because they knew we would score in there.

Notre Dame's Quinn Poythress puts up a shot over Potosi's Dylan Coleman during the first quarter of the Class 4 sectional Tuesday, March 10, 2015 in Jackson, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"Just a complete team effort. All these guys have one thing in common: Just win the next game."

Potosi did its best to stay even with the Bulldogs, trailing just 34-28 at halftime. And it was 38-33 when Notre Dame went on an 8-0 run in the third quarter that included a key five-point possession. Shively hit one of two free throws, but an ensuing Notre Dame foul was countered by a technical foul whistled against Potosi's Dylan Coleman. Instead of the Trojans getting the ball, Poythress hit two free throws, and on the ensuing throw-in, Crippen converted a pass from Poythress down low for an easy hoop that put the Bulldogs up 46-33.

Notre Dame stretched it to 55-42 after three periods, and any thoughts Potosi had of getting back into the game were thwarted by a 9-0 run by the Bulldogs to open the fourth quarter.

"Their depth kind of just wore on us," Potosi coach Brett Hale said. "I think we got a little worn out. We're not as deep. Their depth is really good. They don't lose much when they sub."

Coleman led Potosi with 23 points, but the 6-foot-6 senior forward didn't have much help.

"Their guards are so much bigger than our guards, and that makes it tough to score and tough to rebound," Hale said. "They're just a big team, a long team, and they can all move. They're very good."

Poythress hit on 13 of 17 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers.

"With our offense, we got a lot of high-low action and found our bigs inside," Poythress said. "It was good to take advantage of that. That really helped us."

Unterreiner liked the way Poythress attacked offensively throughout the contest.

Notre Dame's Tanner Shively shoots as Potosi's Colby Eckhoff defends during the second quarter of the Class 4 sectional Tuesday, March 10, 2015 in Jackson, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"Tonight what I was proud about was he took the ball to the rim," Unterreiner said. "He had a full, complete game. He took the ball to the basket, he stepped out and hit some big shots for us when the game was tight."

Notre Dame's Trenton Schumer tries to keep the ball from Potosi's Chandler Franklin, left, and Colby Eckhoff during the fourth quarter of the Class 4 sectional Tuesday, March 10, 2015 in Jackson, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Unterreiner also praised Schumer, who played what the Notre Dame coach said was his best game of the year.

"Coach told us we needed to dribble down to the corner, and the high-low game would be open," Schumer said. "Tonight it was really working for us with our big guys."

Schumer also had high praise for Poythress' effort.

"It's awesome," Schumer said of his teammate's ability to drive the lane as well as his the outside shot. "There's nothing like it because you know if you can get him the ball then he's going to do his thing and he's going to score for us."

Potosi 12 16 14 7 -- 49

Notre Dame 17 17 21 17 -- 72

POTOSI (49) -- Dylan Coleman 23, Colby Eckhoff 6, Luke Jacobsen 6, Dalton Whitley 1, Jordan Huerta 9, Sherrell Allen 4. FG 17, FT 9-13, F 11. (3-pointers: Coleman 2, Eckhoff 2, Jacobsen 2. Fouled out: none.)

NOTRE DAME (72) -- Blake Bauwens 2, Tanner Shively 12, Quinn Poythress 32, Trenton Schumer 14, Thomas Himmelberg 2, Dean Crippen 8, Nick Bradshaw 2. FG 31, FT 4-7, F 13. (3-pointers: Poythress 3, Schumer 2, Shively 1. Fouled out: none.)