Scott City satisfied with easy victory

Scott City and Notre Dame haven't exactly been the friendliest of basketball rivals over the years -- which is why the Rams delighted in Tuesday night's 87-70 rout of the Bulldogs.

A big crowd at Scott City's gymnasium -- there also were plenty of Notre Dame fans on hand -- saw the Rams roll from start to finish in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the 17-point margin.

The Rams built a 51-22 halftime lead and might well have broken the 100-point mark had coach Lance Amick not cleared his bench late in the third quarter while the Bulldogs kept the bulk of their starters in until the final buzzer.

"It's nice to beat Notre Dame, especially at home," said Tyler Ward, a 6-foot-9 senior center. "Even though we're not in their district any more, it's still the same to us."

Said senior point Jeremy Schlosser: "We haven't beaten them since we've been on varsity, and that was a goal of ours. We came out with some intensity."

Scott City, coming off the championship of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament, improved to 13-3. The Rams are ranked ninth in the Class 3 state poll.

"In a rivalry like that, you get bragging rights for a whole year," Amick said. "We've played well lately and hopefully we can keep it up. And our fans were great tonight. They're really a sixth man for us."

Notre Dame, which has just one senior, fell to 4-15.

"I thought Scott City really played well," Bulldogs coach Darrin Scott said. "I don't want to always go back to being young, but we're playing three sophomores and five juniors."

Six Rams scored in double figures, led by Schlosser and junior forward Mark Dannenmueller with 18 points each. Dannenmueller hit four of five 3-pointers and Schlosser recorded five assists.

Senior forward Andy Beck and junior forward Mark Johnston both had 11 points while Ward and senior guard Ryan Glastetter added 10 apiece. Ward had nine rebounds and Johnston eight as the Rams dominated the boards 35-18.

Junior forward Bryce Willen paced the Bulldogs with 24 points. Junior guards Mark Unterreiner and John Eric Klein each scored 14 points.

Scott City led 24-12 after one quarter and exploded to a 51-17 lead late in the second period before setting on a 51-22 halftime advantage.

Notre Dame twice pulled to within 21 points in the third quarter before falling back behind 78-45 at the end of the period. A late flurry by the Bulldogs made the final score a bit more respectable.

"It's good to get everybody in during a game like this," said Amick, whose squad shot 64 percent from the field, making 23 of 36 attempts. "The guys who don't normally play that much work just as hard as everybody else."

SCOTT CITY 87, NOTRE DAME 70

Notre Dame 12 10 23 25 -- 70

Scott City 24 27 27 9 -- 87

NOTRE DAME (70) -- John Eric Klein 14, Jeremy Brinkmeyer 8, Mark Unterreiner 14, Alex Ressel 7, Bryce Willen 24, Blake Fisher 3. FG 22, FT 22-29, F 25 (3-pointers: Klein 2, Brinkmeyer 1, Willen 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT CITY (87) -- Jeremy Schlosser 18, Steve Sanford 1, Darren Willey 3, Jason Schenimann 5, Ryan Glastetter 10, Mark Johnston 11, Mark Dannenmueller 18, Andy Beck 11, Tyler Ward 10. FG 23, FT 33-42, F 24 (3-pointers: Schlosser 2, Schenimann 1, Dannenmueller 4, Beck 1. Fouled out: none)

JV: Scott City 62, Notre Dame 53