Notre Dame hoops adopts “next play” mentality

The Notre Dame boys basketball team (7-8) and first-year head coach Jeremy Brinkmeyer have had an up-and-down beginning to their season. The Bulldogs began the year with a 1-5 record, culminating with a 38-point home loss to Sikeston. Since then Notre Dame has gone 6-3 including a third-place victory in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

The most recent victory for the Bulldogs came on Friday night when they took a tough overtime win on the road at Saxony Lutheran. A back-and-forth affair went Notre Dame’s way after 36 minutes of basketball, outscoring the Crusaders 10-3 in the extra period.

Brinkmeyer said while it might have been ugly, hard-nosed basketball they were resilient and found a way to win.

“We didn't do a great job of executing down the end. But we did a good job of being resilient and trying to find a way,” Brinkmeyer said. “You can't be worried about mistakes because basketball is a game of mistakes. We just kept playing through it and found a way to beat Saxony, they’re such a good team, so well-coached, and they have some great players so we're just happy to come out with a win.”

An example of this resilience in the game was junior Logan Landewee who at one point committed an offensive foul and then got a steal on the ensuing Crusader possession. The 5 foot 9 point guard also had three assists and four steals to go along with 10 points in the win.

Brinkmeyer said Landewee has started shooting with confidence and has been a top scorer in several of the Bulldogs’ previous games.

“He’s started to shoot how he shoots the practice and the main thing is he's becoming our quarterback of the offense. He's become the general of the team that we've been trying to get,” Brinkmeyer said. “He does a fantastic job of putting us in good positions, getting the ball where it needs to go, and whenever he’s open knocking down a shot.”

A main factor of Notre Dame trailing at halftime against Saxony was the rebounding differential. Crusader senior Luke Eggemeyer used his 6 foot 7 frame to pull down seemingly every rebound but in the second half, Notre Dame turned to freshman Devin Dannenmueller to attempt to slow Eggemeyer down.

“We looked down on the bench and we looked to Devin, we said, ‘Hey, it's your time’ and I know he's only a freshman but he did a fantastic job. He wasn't scared to step up and be physical and help us close out the lane and grab some rebounds,” Brinkmeyer said.

As the season continues, the Bulldogs will continue to be pushed with upcoming opponents including tough Jackson and Farmington squads. Brinkmeyer said while a tough win is nice you cannot dwell on it because you have to stay focused on the end of the regular season.

“If we sit here and celebrate this win, it's not gonna be very fun tomorrow. We just have to keep focusing on getting better every day. Because at the end of the day, none of this matters,” Brinkmeyer said. “What matters is at the end of the season, so we just want to keep getting better every single day, so we're ready.”