RAMS' RALLY PUTS BULLDOGS TO SLEEP; SCOTT CITY REACHES DISTRICT FINAL 70-67

BLOOMFIELD -- Practice makes perfect. Just ask Scott City's Jon Beck.

With 13 seconds remaining and the Rams trailing Notre Dame by a point, Beck stepped to the free throw line with the Class 2A, District 2 semifinal game on the line. Beck calmly dropped two free throws through the hoop to give the Rams their first lead since early in the second quarter. Those two points proved to be the difference in Scott City's 70-67 win.

Top-seed Scott City (24-4) advances into the district final tonight against sixth-seed, and tournament host, Bloomfield, who upset No. 2 seed Bernie 65-47 in the late game.

Although the 5-foot-11 sophomore came through in the pressure-packed moment, Beck had prepared for just the occasion with some late-night shooting the night before with assistant coach Stephen O'Brien. Beck said he called O'Brien around 9 p.m., on Thursday to open the gym and shot for almost two hours.

"I came out last night with coach O'Brien because I wanted to shoot a little bit," Beck said. "I shot about 160 free throws."

And O'Brien reminded him of his extra work at the line before the game-winning free throws.

"He told me at the timeout `this is what you worked for last night. This is what you called me for right here,'" Beck said.

Beck, who finished with 12 points, didn't disappoint his coach, but did ruin Notre Dame's upset bid.

Chris Sisk added two free throws with eight seconds left and the Rams were assured an appearance in the championship game when Notre Dame's Ben Gosche missed a 3-point shot from the top of the key with two seconds left.

Notre Dame saw its season end at 9-17 despite 24 points from Dirk Dirnberger.

Dustin Cauble was as equally effective for Scott City, finishing with a game-high 28 points.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs led the entire second half, including a 65-59 lead with 1:30 left, until Beck's heroics.

"We outplayed them for 29 minutes and that's what hurts so bad," Notre Dame coach Chris Janet said. "We showed so much heart. It's difficult as a coach to go in and face the players after the determination they showed tonight.

"This hurts worse than last year when we lost the district final (to Scott City) because we deserved to win."

Notre Dame certainly did enough to win, but in the final three minutes of the game Scott City turned up its intensity and took advantage of Bulldog mistakes and missed free throws. Notre Dame went 1-of-6 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the game, allowing the Rams to make a final run. For the game Notre Dame shot just 2-of-11 from the line. Scott City made 19-of-24 free throws

"Notre Dame outplayed us for three quarters and I think they deserved to win," Scott City coach Derek McCord said in a hoarse voice. "But the work ethic these kids have shown all year, all the credit goes to them. They are the most dedicated kids I've ever coached."

McCord said his players remained upbeat even when trailing late in the game.

"They never quit," said McCord, mentioning a timeout late in the game. "They were over there telling me `we're not quitting' and we never did."

Notre Dame appeared to be in control when senior guard Nathan McGuire scored the last of his 23 points with 3:58 left. McGuire's basket put the Bulldogs ahead 64-55. But a minute later, with the Bulldogs still leading by nine, McGuire picked up his fifth foul on a charge and had to leave the game.

The loss of McGuire, who drilled five 3-pointers, forced Janet to play a lineup consisting of two seniors, two sophomores and one freshman. The Bulldogs' inexperience showed in the Rams' comeback.

Scott City scored four points in the next minute to make the score 64-60. A free throw by Notre Dame sophomore Zach Miller with 1:58 left put the Bulldogs up 65-60, but three missed free throws by Notre Dame in the next 30 seconds kept the Rams in the game.

With a minute left, Beck drilled a 3-pointer to make the score 65-63. Dirk Dirnberger, who controlled play for Notre Dame in the first half, scored with 42 seconds remaining to put the Bulldogs ahead 67-63.

"Dirk was awesome," said Janet. "I told him before the game he was going to have to be a `man' for 32 minutes. When he plays with that intensity he's the best post player in southeast Missouri, hands down."

Cauble countered with a conventional 3-point play to bring the Rams to within 67-66 with only 35 seconds left.

Notre Dame missed another free throw with 25 seconds left, setting the stage for Beck's winning free throws. Chris Sisk, who scored 16 points, added two more free throws with eight seconds left to make the final score.

In Bloomfield's victory, Nick Hutchison scored 18 points for the Wildcats while Dustin Hicks and Michael Chasteen each finished with 15.

Brandon Stone scored a game-high 20 points for Bernie.