NOTRE DAME WEATHERS WOODLAND COMEBACK

Entering the final quarter and trailing by 18 at Notre Dame, Woodland coach Jennings Wilkinson implored his team not to give up over the final eight minutes of Friday's game.

The Cardinals appear to be good listeners.

Woodland made its first five 3-pointers and poured in 30 points to make things close, but the Bulldogs held on at the end to snap a five-game losing streak 79-75.

Notre Dame got its first win since a Jan. 9 upset of Kelly in improving to 6-10. Woodland, which got a game-high 31 points from junior David Massa, fell to 12-8.

After a seemingly flawless third quarter put the Bulldogs ahead 63-45, Wilkinson did a quick gut-check of his team.

"I told (the team) we wanted to go out of the game with class," said Wilkinson. "We wanted to play hard and not give up.

"I said, `Just don't give up; at least be proud of your effort.'"

The Cardinals responded with a 10-2 run to start the final quarter that made the score 65-55 with 5:19 left. After a putback by Notre Dame's Jason Rubel, Greg Lincoln made the Cardinals' next two baskets -- both 3-pointers -- to close the score to 69-61 with 3:25 left.

Corey Yount took over the next minute, scoring Woodland's next seven points on a free throw and two 3-pointers to eventually close the gap to 72-68 with just 2:00 left. Yount finished with 17 points.

"We got a little cold shooting and they were unconscious at the time," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet of the fourth quarter. "They were hot as firecrackers.

"That compounded and snowballed on us and it got a little shaky in those last couple minutes."

But the Bulldogs didn't let the Cardinals get any closer. Notre Dame made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:26 to close out the victory.

"We had a good comeback," Wilkinson said. "They hit their free throws and we just didn't have enough time to come back on them."

Free throws were big for both teams. Notre Dame made 24 of 30 (80 percent) in the game while Woodland hit 26 of 33 (79 percent).

"The bottom line is down the stretch we didn't fold our tents," Janet said. "We made the free throws and did what it took to win the game."

It didn't appear all that would be necessary after the Bulldogs extended a 38-32 halftime-lead with an outstanding third quarter. Zach Miller sparked Notre Dame in the period, scoring 11 of his 16 total points, as the Bulldogs outscored Woodland 25-13 to take what appeared to be a commanding lead into the fourth quarter.

"That third quarter we played about as well as we played all year and had a great opportunity to put the game away," said Janet. "Then we just simply did not play very intelligent."

The game started oddly enough with the Bulldogs taking a 2-0 lead before the game even started. A Woodland player was whistled for dunking in the pre-game warm-ups and Notre Dame's Nick Dannenmueller made both technical free throws.

Just 27-seconds into the game, Woodland got that technical back as Jason Rubel was whistled for a technical after fouling Massa on a shot attempt. Woodland made only one of the four ensuing free throws and the Bulldogs raced to an 18-10 first-quarter lead.

Woodland picked up another technical with 2:21 left before halftime when things started getting a little physical. Wilkinson picked up the "T" when he jumped into the second row of the bleachers and sat down following a foul on one of his players.

"They came out more physical than us," Wilkinson said. "They were pushing us around and we weren't pushing back."

Rubel made all four free throws in the sequence, giving the Bulldogs a 38-28 lead.

Rubel ended with 17 points despite missing the entire first quarter after his technical. Michael Wehner led the Bulldogs with 19 points and Josh Eftink added 12.

"It was crucial that Michael (Wehner) step up for us with Rubel (getting a technical) early in the game," Janet said. "He's not flashy, but he's having a real good year for us."

Notre Dame shot a sizzling 51 percent from the floor (27 of 53). Woodland made 9 of 16 3-pointers in the game, but shot just 43 percent (20 of 46) overall.