Notre Dame dashes Advance's hopes

A hot Advance team had high hopes of pulling off an upset in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament quarterfinals.

Notre Dame's torrid second quarter put an early end to the Hornets' dreams.

The Bulldogs' stifling defense sparked an 18-0 second-period run Saturday night.

Things only got worse for Advance the rest of the way as second-seeded Notre Dame routed the No. 7 Hornets 76-41.

"I thought we played well," Notre Dame junior guard Nick Koeppel said. "Coach was telling us they were going to be a good team. We tried to be ready."

Notre Dame was, which pleased first-year coach Kevin Roberts.

"We gave an effort tonight, that's the big thing," said Roberts, previously a Notre Dame assistant. "They're a good team and they have some good players. We wanted to press them with our depth."

Notre Dame advances to Monday's semifinal against third-seeded Jackson. The Indians beat the Bulldogs in last year's title game.

Advance falls into a fifth-place semifinal meeting with No. 6 Leopold.

Senior forward Austin Greer led the defending Class 4 state champion Bulldogs (6-4) with 25 points, all from close to the basket.

"We had a pretty good game," said Greer, who scored 14 first-half points as Notre Dame established him inside early. "We had a great effort by everybody."

Jacob Tolbert, a 6-6 sophomore center, added 12 points for the Bulldogs.

The Hornets (6-2) had no player reach double figures. Sophomore Darren VanGennip led the way with eight points.

Advance senior David VanGennip, who scored 31 points in the first round, was held to five points.

"We picked our defense up," Greer said.

The Hornets, whose only loss entering the tournament was to top-seeded Scott County Central, opened with Friday's dominating win over Bell City.

That momentum appeared to carry over for a while Saturday as Advance battled Notre Dame to a 16-16 standoff after one quarter.

It was 18-18 early in the second period when the roof caved in on the Hornets.

Notre Dame's press kicked into high gear, forcing numerous turnovers that led to several easy baskets.

The Bulldogs scored the final 18 points of the half -- making for an overall 20-2 second-quarter edge -- to lead 36-18 at the break.

"We guarded a lot better and we established an inside game," Roberts said.

Notre Dame continued to widen its advantage in the second half, even outscoring Advance 20-8 in the fourth quarter despite the Bulldogs' reserves playing most of the period.

"We've played some pretty good games so far, but this is definitely up there," Roberts said.

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Advance162158--41

Notre Dame16202020--76

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Advance (41) -- Brad Steil 6, Luke Steil 7, Grant Gray 3, Dylan Dunivan 3, Matt Ware 2, David VanGennip 5, Jacob Bond 7, Darren VanGennip 8. FG 16, FT 7-12, F 10. (3-pointers: Gray 1, Bond 1. Fouled out: None)

Notre Dame (76) -- Nick Koeppel 4, Liam Maher 2, Taylor Essner 5, Alex Carroll 2, Alex Bader 8, John Unterreiner 6, Austin Greer 25, Tanner Hiett 3, Jacob Tolbert 12, Matt Helle 6, Dylan Essner 4. FG 32, FT 7-8, F 12. (3-pointers: T. Essner 1, Bader 2, Ja. Tolbert 2. Fouled out: None)