Notre Dame boys basketball team wins district title

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Notre Dame entered the final period of the Class 4 District 1 championship with a 13-point advantage but watched its lead dwindle to five points with less than a minute remaining.

Sikeston's Donnell Cobb knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner before Notre Dame committed its eighth turnover of the quarter to give the ball right back to the host Bulldogs.

But Notre Dame's Trenton Schumer swept in for a steal and dashed to the other end for an easy layup with 32 seconds remaining, and Notre Dame held on for a 63-56 win Saturday night at the Sikeston Field House.

First-year Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner was quick to credit everyone involved in winning a district title.

"It's a testament to the work that [former coach] Kevin Roberts put in before he left here last year," Unterreiner said. "It's a testament to the type of kids I have. It's a testament to the coaching staff that we have in place and just the fact that everyone bought into the same thing."

It was a game of redemption for Notre Dame (24-4), which suffered a 62-32 loss to Sikeston in December at the field house.

Unterreiner challenged his team to discover its identity after that loss, and Notre Dame responded by embarking on a 12-game winning streak.

"Tonight, were we that perfect team? No, but I'll tell you what, everybody had each other's backs, and we were going to battle together," Unterreiner said. "Win or lose, we were going to be a family, and by golly, we're a happy family right now."

A free throw by Luke Williams gave Sikeston (18-9) its only lead of the game 16 seconds into the opening period, but Quinn Poythress responded by draining a jumper with 7:29 remaining to give Notre Dame a lead it didn't relinquish.

After Sikeston's Fred Thatch scored to cut Notre Dame's lead to 6-5 with 4:57 left in the quarter, Poythress answered with a trey from the right corner to spark a 10-3 run for Notre Dame. Sikeston trailed 16-10 at the end of the opening period.

Unterreiner said getting out to an early lead was pivotal for his team's momentum.

"It's huge, especially when you play at Sikeston," Unterreiner said. "When you get their crowd involved and it's loud, every made basket to them is just an eruption. When you can jump out early and get a lead and get comfortable and see the ball go through the hoop a few times, it just makes the game a lot easier."

Sikeston took advantage of seven Notre Dame turnovers in the second quarter and was able to tie the game three times before Blake Bauwens hit a pair of free throws with 50.1 seconds remaining to give Notre Dame a two-point edge at the break.

Notre Dame struggled against Sikeston's 2-2-1 pressure defense and finished the game with 23 turnovers.

"A lot of that was Sikeston," Unterreiner said about the turnovers. "They did what they do well and put pressure on us."

Notre Dame faced a daunting challenge in the second quarter, when starter Grant Ressel left with an injury. Unterreiner said losing Ressel contributed a lot to his team's inability to handle Sikeston's press.

"I'd put him up there with anybody in this area that can handle the basketball, and we didn't have him," Unterreiner said about Ressel. "We had to learn how to go without him, and different guys stepped up.

"Everybody made a mistake at some point. I made a mistake at some point, but we came together and did just enough to pull it off."

Notre Dame came out strong in the second half. Thomas Himmelberg connected with Poythress on an alley-oop dunk that sparked a 6-0 spurt for Notre Dame, which built a 32-24 lead in the opening 1 minute, 35 seconds of the third period.

Notre Dame netted the final five points of the quarter, including a trey from Poythress in the final seconds that extended his team's lead to 45-32 at heading into the fourth period.

"That was unbelievable," Unterreiner said about Poythress' shot. "Our play broke completely down, and he got the ball in the corner and managed to get off a shot. That was just a huge momentum swing."

Brendan Boswell knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter to push Notre Dame's lead to 14 points before hitting another at the 2:41 mark to give Notre Dame a 59-47 advantage.

"Both of his 3s were massive 3s, unbelievable," Unterreiner said about Boswell. "He got a shot in rhythm, and he knew it. If he gets a shot in rhythm, it's going in. He's shooting about 46 percent from 3-point range this year, and I don't care if we're trying to run clock out or what. If he gets a shot, he's going to take it, and we're going to live and die by that."

Sikeston closed the final period on a 9-2 run that was capped by Cobb's 3-pointer inside the final minute, drawing Sikeston within five points.

Notre Dame secured a defensive rebound on a missed 3-pointer to secure the victory.

Sikeston was 16 of 51 (31 percent) from the floor and was led by a game-high 21 points from Thatch. Corbyn Blissett added 12 points, and Dominique Dyes contributed 11 points.

Unterreiner said his team made it a priority to prevent the 6-foot-2 Thatch from getting the ball inside and forced him to earn his points at the free-throw line, where Sikeston finished 19 of 30 (63 percent).

"I think we wore him down pretty good throughout the game, but he's an outstanding player," Unterreiner said about Thatch. "He's going to get his, and he got 21 tonight. He's just going to be a phenomenal player as he gets older, better and more mature."

Tanner Shively led Notre Dame with 14 points. Poythress finished with 12 points for Notre Dame, and Bauwens and Dean Crippen each scored 10 points. Notre Dame shot 24 of 43 (56 percent) from the field, including 7 of 18 (39 percent) from beyond the arc.

Unterreiner said he was pleased to see four of his players reach double figures.

"They can all score, and tonight was a complete team effort," Unterreiner said.

Notre Dame will take on Potosi in a Class 4 sectional at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Jackson High School.

"These guys deserve to enjoy this tonight, as do our coaching staff and everybody, so we're going to enjoy it tonight," Unterreiner said. "Tomorrow we'll probably take it off. We'll probably come back Monday and go over some stuff for Tuesday and get ready to go.

"We worked their tails off the last two nights to get this, and we've got to get another breather tomorrow."

Sikeston 10 14 8 24 -- 56

Notre Dame 16 10 19 18 -- 63

SIKESTON (56) -- Fred Thatch 21, Corbyn Blissett 12, Dominique Dyes 11, Donnell Cobb 8, Earnest Fobbs 2, Juwon Kimble 1, Luke Williams 1. FG 16-51, FT 19-30, F 15. (3-pointers: Dyes 3, Cobb 2. Fouled out: none.)

NOTRE DAME (63) -- Tanner Shively 14, Quinn Poythress 12, Blake Bauwens 10, Dean Crippen 10, Thomas Himmelberg 7, Brendan Boswell 6, Trenton Schumer 4. FG 24-43, FT 8-12, F 22. (3-pointers: Bauwens 2, Boswell 2, Poythress 2, Himmelberg 1. Fouled out: none.)