Notre Dame boys basketball triumphs at Scott County Central

~ Notre Dame ended Scott County Central's 15-game winning streak with a 71-62 victory.

MORLEY, Mo. -- Notre Dame Scott Countied Scott County.

The Bulldogs fed their big man down low while leaning heavily on their defensive pressure to create turnovers, put the other team's guards in uncomfortable positions and spark their offense, especially in the early going Tuesday. They rode that early momentum to a 71-62 victory in front of a packed Scott County Central High School gym.

"They're not used to pressure," Notre Dame senior Ke-Ke Kellum said. "With Bobby Hatchett dribbling so well, people will just fall back on him. We knew if we got Bobby tired then they're going to need him the second half and they don't play many players."

Scott County usually is the one forcing multiple turnovers. But the Braves turned over the ball nine times in the first quarter and the Bulldogs used that to build a 21-10 advantage.

"What they say is pressing teams don't like to be pressed," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "I doubt very many teams have pressed them this year. That was our goal, to come out and pressure them. They don't go very deep on their bench and we wanted to wear them out and get them up and down the floor."

Roberts said he was confident that his three guards could make life difficult for Scott County point guard Bobby Hatchett.

"It takes big guts, especially when Bobby Hatchett has the ball," Roberts said of pressing. "We forced him into multiple turnovers. Nick Koeppel, Liam Maher and Ke-Ke Kellum, they can guard anybody. If they can guard Bobby Hatchett, they can guard anybody."

Scott County coach Kenyon Wright said the Bulldogs did a good job of limiting Hatchett's looks at the basket.

"They were just playing hard," Wright said of the Bulldogs. "They come out and had a game plan. Whenever Bobby got the basketball, they were going to flow with him, try to back tip and keep him in front of them. They did a good job of keeping him in front of them. That kept him from getting to the basket."

The Bulldogs only committed three turnovers in the first quarter. Notre Dame's guard combination of Kellum, Koeppel and Maher methodically worked the ball up the court using cross-court passes to avoid the teeth of Scott County's defense.

"We wanted to attack," Roberts said. "A lot of teams just settle for getting it across half court. You've got to throw the ball down the floor and attack. You've got to force them to foul you. That's what we did."

Kellum credited his team's last two practices for properly preparing the Bulldogs for the Braves' pressure.

"In practice, all we did was work on the top of their press," Kellum said. "Our coach used six players in practice and we had to get around that. We can't do it with five players because their press is so intense. We used six players to help us out and I think it helped out a whole lot."

Notre Dame built its first-half lead on the back of junior Jacob Tolbert. The 6-foot-7 forward scored 19 points before halftime, with 11 of them coming from the free-throw line.

"We just came out and tried to play our game and set our own tempo in the game, just try to push the ball and press the ball and not really change anything -- just keep playing our game," Tolbert said.

The Bulldogs only shot 29 percent (9 of 31) from the field in the first half, but converted 14 of their 18 free throws (78 percent) for a nine-point lead at the break.

"We were walking through the hallway and everybody was screaming, all pumped up," Koeppel said.

The Bulldogs finished with 10 turnovers, while the Braves recorded 16 turnovers in the first half.

"We kind of knew they were going to press," Scott County junior Otto Porter said. "They were just trying to slow us down. It did kind of slow us down, but we just started to go as fast as we could."

Scott County cut its deficit to four points with an 8-3 run to start the third quarter, but the Bulldogs kept answering the Braves' runs. The Braves again cut their hole to four points with 7 minutes, 8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs reeled off a 6-0 run and Scott County never got closer than six points. Notre Dame sealed its win at the free-throw line by hitting 14 of their 16 attempts in the fourth quarter (88 percent). Notre Dame finished the game at 83 percent (30 of 36).

Porter led the Braves with 31 points, while Hatchett added 17. The Braves' two standouts combined to shoot 44 percent (16 of 36) from the floor.

"We have to have other guys step up," Wright said. "I don't have any other guys wanting to step up and take the load. They have to step up and take that shot and put it on their back. If I was playing us, I'd watch Bobby and Otto too. I've got to have my other kids stepping up and hitting shot. Tonight, I had two other kids score."

Notre Dame 21 13 13 24 -- 71

SCC 10 15 16 21 -- 62

NOTRE DAME (71) -- Liam Maher 10, Jacob Tolbert 24, Luciano Starling 7, Matt Helle 7, Alex Carroll 6, Ke-Ke Kellum 5, Nick Koeppel 6, Tanner Hiett 6. FG 18, FT 30-36, F 25. (3-pointers: Carroll 2, Maher 2, Kellum 1. Fouled out: Tolbert)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (62) -- Bobby Hatchett 17, Otto Porter 31, Dominique Porter 10, John Rhoden 4. FG 21, FT 19-28, F 22. (3-pointers: D. Porter 1. Fouled out: Rhoden, Trey Johnson)