Notre Dame outlasts Central for third place at SEMO Conference boys basketball tourney

SIKESTON, Mo. -- It wouldn't seem too strange if Nathan Meystedt referred to his basketball games against Central in the SEMO Conference tournament as bouts and the quarters as rounds.

Meystedt had the look of a prize fighter with half of a front tooth missing after Friday night's third-place game.

But he was wearing a smile, and the belt this time around.

Meystedt helped fourth-seeded Notre Dame deliver a knockout blow to the third-seeded Tigers. The 5-foot-10 senior provided 10 of his game-high 21 points in the final 8 minutes, 1 second of the game in helping Notre Dame rally for a 52-44 victory.

The Bulldogs' leading scorer on the season proved to still have quite a bite after breaking off half of his front tooth early in the game.

Notre Dame's Cody Heisserer puts up a shot against Central's Jacob Boerboom during the second quarter of the SEMO Conference tournament third-place game Friday in Sikeston, Mo. Notre Dame won 52-44. (Kristin Eberts)

"Right in the first quarter, a guy was dribbling and we bumped heads," Meystedt said.

What Meystedt lost was the replacement piece on his front tooth, which was a product of last year's bout.

"I got my actual tooth knocked out last year against Central, and it just happened to be the same thing this year," Meystedt said. "Same tournament, same game. It's weird."

Except Meystedt didn't have much to smile about after a one-point semifinal loss to Central last year.

Meystedt hit for at least 20 points in all three tournament games this season, helping the Bulldogs even their record at 2-2.

Central's T.J. Tisdell takes a shot as Notre Dame's Nathan Meystedt looks on during the fourth quarter Friday.

"He's so consistent, and against the level of competition we've played the first four games, for him to be averaging 21 a game is tremendous," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "It's only going to get better."

Meystedt was the only Notre Dame player to reach double figures. Seniors Jordan Reddin and Joe Siebert both followed with eight points.

"He's a player," Central coach Drew Church said about Meystedt. "He's been through the wars and knows what to do. We didn't do a very good job of stopping him in any way."

While Meystedt encountered tooth trouble in the first quarter, it was Central that was on the ropes.

Notre Dame (2-2) scored the game's first seven points and held a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs extended their lead to a game-high 14 points at 22-8 when Reddin capped a 7-0 burst with a fast-break basket.

The basket had Church calling timeout.

"I think we came out scared," Church said. "I know I keep harping on this, but we've got no experience. We've got young kids. We're playing four or five sophomores, and that's normal. That's what I expected.

"But the good thing is we were able to learn from that and turn it on."

A pair of sophomores, 6-5 Jamal Cox and guard Tim Booker, helped senior T.J. Tisdell get the Tigers back in the game and eventually into the lead.

Cox led the Tigers with 16 points, Tisdell had 13 and Booker netted 11.

The Tigers scored right out of the timeout and closed the gap to 27-21 by halftime.

Both teams followed similar paths in the second half that they traveled in their semifinal losses a night earlier.

Notre Dame had yielded a 24-4 third-quarter run to Sikeston in its semifinal loss. Central hit the Bulldogs with a 16-4 scoring spurt to take the lead in the third quarter.

"We jumped on them quick, but we let them back in the game," Meystedt said. "It's just something we've got to work on to keep our intensity up. It's something we had a problem with [against Sikeston]."

The Tigers scored the first six points of the second half. Inside baskets by Tisdell and Cox were followed by a pair of free throws by Cox that tied the game at 27-27 with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

Tisdell gave Central its first lead of the game a minute later when he grabbed a 3-point attempt that missed the rim and banked it in for a 31-29 advantage.

The score was tied 31-31 when Booker sank 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor for a 37-31 lead with 2:51 left in the third quarter.

Booker's only two treys in the game had Roberts calling timeout.

"When we doubled down, they made 3s," Roberts said. "You have to force somebody besides Tisdell to beat you."

It proved to be the pinnacle moment for Central as it quickly lost its six-point advantage.

Notre Dame closed the period with an 8-1 run, capped by a Meystedt fadeaway a step inside the top of the arc as the buzzer sounded for a 39-38 Notre Dame advantage.

"When we need him, he steps up," Roberts said. "He knows his role. He's the best player on our team, so we really need him to be that leader out there."

Central, which lost an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter to Charleston a night earlier, struggled again in the final period.

Cox scored off an offensive rebound to give Central its final lead, 40-39, with 6:07 left. The Tigers then were held scoreless for nearly five minutes.

Meystedt countered with a driving basket that sparked a 10-0 run. He added two more field goals in the decisive burst, which was capped by a pair of Reddin free throws with 1:42 remaining for a 49-40 lead.

The loss was the second consecutive for Central after opening the season with four wins.

"This is two days in a row playing against two good teams that it was really good for us to learn that we need to finish games," Church said. "With kids without a lot of experience, they don't necessarily know how to win. They play not to lose. This was good. The last two days were good. And it's also good because we're going to see these teams again."

Central 6 15 17 6 -- 44

Notre Dame 15 12 12 13 -- 52

CENTRAL (44) -- Vance Toole 2, Tim Booker 11, Devon Johnson 2, T.J. Tisdell 13, Jamal Cox 16. FG 17, FT 7-10, F 14. (3-pointers: Booker 2, Cox. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (52) -- Jonathan Lynch 6, Jordan Reddin 8, Nathan Meystedt 21, Patrick Williamson 2, Joe Siebert 8, Cody Heisserer 7. FG 21, FT 8-11, F 14. (3-pointers: Meystedt, Siebert. Fouled out: none)