SportsFebruary 13, 2016
Poplar Bluff boys basketball surges past Notre Dame
Junior Willie Lucas notched a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Marcedus Leech contributed 26 points, eight rebounds and six steals, leading the Mules to a 74-59 victory that spoiled Notre Dame's homecoming night.
The Poplar Bluff boys basketball team proved Friday night that it might have the best 1-2 punch in the SEMO Conference.
Junior Willie Lucas notched a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Marcedus Leech contributed 26 points, eight rebounds and six steals, leading the Mules to a 74-59 victory that spoiled Notre Dame's homecoming night.
The Mules went on a 24-5 run in the second quarter, during which Leech sparked his team's offense in a big way. The 6-foot-5 guard is lauded as one of the top players in the nation in the 2019 class, and he proved it when he pulled up seven feet behind the right elbow and drained a contested 3-pointer that gave Poplar Bluff (14-7, 2-2 SEMO Conference) a 14-13 lead with 6 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the first half.
Tyriek Ellis scored inside to put the Mules ahead for good at 18-17 with 5:05 left in the second quarter. Leech contributed 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the period, as Poplar Bluff built a commanding 40-22 lead at halftime.
"He got it going by getting it in transition in the early offense," Mules coach Will Durden said. "He was making the layups, and he was getting some easy buckets. Then it just opened him up on the outside. He's one of those kids that if he makes the first one, he might hit fire before he misses one, so I'm glad he carried us in that second quarter."
The combination of turning the ball over and being unable to slow down Leech proved to be too much for Notre Dame (11-11, 4-3), which committed 13 turnovers in the first half, including seven in the second period.
"We went cold a little bit, led to a lot of run-outs for [Leech], and he got to the rim in a hurry," Bulldogs coach Paul Unterreiner said. "His point total skyrocketed in a hurry, and then he started hitting from everywhere. If he's going to hit from way down there, that's just what happens. But we allowed some run-outs, and that allowed him to take off."
Durden said his team switched to a man-to-man defense in the second quarter, resulting in a much more intensified level of play.
"That was probably the first time this year that we actually guarded and had our weak-side help in the right place, so it felt pretty good," Durden said. "We turned up the pressure a little bit and got a bunch of transition points."
The Bulldogs trimmed their deficit to single digits when a pair of turnovers led to back-to-back 3-pointers by Blake Bauwens at the 2:37 mark of the third quarter. It capped an 8-1 run that pulled Notre Dame within 47-38 before Leech knocked down a triple from the left key to extend the Mules' lead back to 12.
Ross Essner hit a trey from the left corner, pulling the Bulldogs within seven points, 50-43, with 1:33 remaining in the period, but Poplar Bluff cushioned its lead by knocking down all six of its free-throw attempts in the final minute. The Mules carried a 56-45 advantage into the final period.
"In that second quarter, we just got away from a lot of the things that we do," Unterreiner said. "We let our offense dictate our defense, and then we just wouldn't run our offense. Poplar Bluff did a good job taking us out of what we do offensively, and then we just didn't trust our offense. I thought we started trusting our offense a little bit in that third quarter."
Bauwens hit another 3-pointer with 4:54 remaining to keep the Bulldogs within single digits at 61-53, but Poplar Bluff continuously answered at the charity stripe. Lucas, a 6-6 forward, finished 15 of 18 (83 percent) at the free-throw line, including 11 of 12 in the second half.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
"He was pretty quiet there in the first half, and they did a good job of doubling down on him and being in front of him when he was shooting," Durden said. "In the second half, we kind of freed him up. It helps when [Leech] got kind of hot from the outside, but Willie did a good job of catching it in the paint, being patient and knocking down his free throws."
The Mules finished 24 of 35 (69 percent) at the free-throw line while Notre Dame was 8 of 16 (50 percent).
"Good teams make free throws, and they made a lot of free throws," Unterreiner said. "If Willie Lucas is going to be the player that I think he's going to be -- and he was a heck of a player tonight -- that just adds to his game like no other. If you can get to that free-throw line and knock them down as a big guy, that adds a whole other tool to your arsenal."
Bauwens missed his first six shots -- all in the first half -- but paced the Bulldogs with 14 points while Essner chipped in 10 points and five assists. Carson Ketcher added eight points and seven rebounds before fouling out in the final period.
Notre Dame finished 21 of 55 (38 percent) from the floor, including 4 of 16 (25 percent) in the final quarter. The Bulldogs were out-rebounded 30-18.
Unterreiner said he thought his team had a chance to grab the No. 2 seed in the Class 4 District 1 tournament, but after Cape Central's upset win -- the tenth-ranked Tigers upset No. 1 Sikeston 73-63 -- he expects the third or fourth seed.
"I like our chances against anybody in that district," Unterreiner said. "I'll take my team every day. I don't care who we play. I know my guys are going to fight and give us a chance to win. Let's just hope I don't screw it up."
The Mules finished 23 of 50 (46 percent) from the field, led by a 10-of-16 (63 percent) outing from Leech. They turned the ball over 22 times, including 11 in the third quarter.
Poplar Bluff has four games remaining -- all in conference play -- and will look to secure its fifth win in six games Monday when it faces Class 5 District 1 rival Jackson at home.
"We're looking for two or three more people to make some stuff happen on offense," Durden said. "In stretches, we'll have a guy step up, but we need people to be more consistent. We've been riding those two guys pretty hard all year, and we just need a couple more people to step up."
Poplar Bluff 11 29 16 18 -- 74
Notre Dame 13 9 23 14 -- 59
POPLAR BLUFF (74) -- Willie Lucas 27, Marcedus Leech 26, Steve Anderson 9, Rodney Houston 6, Tyriek Ellis 4, Joe Darlin 1, Peyton Bradley 1. FG 23, FT 24-35, F 19. (3-pointers: Leech 4. Fouled out: Rashawn McCain.
NOTRE DAME (59) -- Blake Bauwens 14, Ross Essner 10, Carson Ketcher 8, Andrew LeGrand 7, Josh Seabaugh 6, Winston Welter 5, Jake Edwards 5, Tanner Robert 4. FG 21, FT 8-16, F 26. (3-pointers: Bauwens 4, Seabaugh 2, Essner 2, LeGrand 1. Fouled out: Robert, Ketcher.)
JV -- Poplar Bluff won 55-35
Story Tags
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
