Solid defense the key to Bulldogs' win

The source of points has been the big unknown for the Notre Dame boys basketball team this season.

But the source of the Bulldogs' wins is clearly defined.

One had to look no further than the first half of Notre Dame's 61-44 homecoming victory over visiting De Soto on Friday night to discover that fact.

The Bulldogs (13-11) shot just 31 percent in the opening 16 minutes but went into the intermission with a double-digit lead over the Dragons (15-9).

That occurrence drove home the point for Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts, who watched a Farmington team scorch his squad with 74 percent shooting from the field three nights earlier in an 81-70 loss.

Notre Dame's Quinn Pythress goes in for a dunk against De Soto in the third quarter Friday night, Feb. 15, 2013 in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

"That just shows what defense does," Roberts said. "Defense wins games. We're much better shooters than what we showed tonight, which is a good sign. If we can keep playing defense like we did tonight, especially moving into the next couple games, we'll be OK."

Roberts had been preaching the last two days in practice that his team needs to get better defensively.

"If you can put pressure on that ball, everything else just kind of takes its course," Roberts said. "The effort was what I was really pleased with."

Roberts turned to his only three seniors on the roster -- Cody DeBrock, Patrick Williamson and Luke Mocherman -- and a pair of juniors to provide the energy and intensity needed at the start of the game.

"I think coach Roberts just wanted to get the older guys out there first and just show some leadership and to get some energy going, and then get some subs in," Mocherman said. "I think it works."

Notre Dame’s Jordan Barber takes a shot over De Soto’s Jake Patzner in the first quarter Friday night. (Laura Simon)

Mocherman literally rose to the occasion. He did his part to set the tone and elevate the noise level of a full house by stealing the Dragons' first possession of the game and scoring the game's first two points on an uncontested slam dunk.

"I tell you, that got us going," Roberts said. "And when the crowd is big like this and it's homecoming, that just kind of ignites you. We've been kind of lacking that. Farmington outscored us 8-0 at the start of the game, and just to get going like that really put us in a good position."

It was the first slam dunk in a game by Mocherman, who recently signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Bellarmine University.

"I'm kind of an energy guy," said Mocherman, who finished with eight points. "I play defense, rebound. I don't score much. When I got that breakaway ... after practice I always joke around and dunk after practice and never think I would get one in a game, but it was really exciting."

It helped establish an energy level that forced eight turnovers by De Soto in the first quarter, which ended in a 10-10 deadlock.

Junior Jordan Williamson provided the first point of the second quarter on a free throw with 6 minutes, 8 seconds left in the period, and it put the Bulldogs ahead for good. Notre Dame went on to outscore De Soto 15-3 in the period, forcing nine more turnovers in the period.

De Soto was thwarted on numerous attempts to get the inside to season-leading scorer Jake Patzner, a 6-foot-8 senior center who was three inches taller than the Bulldogs' tallest player. He scored the Dragons' lone three points of the period and finished with 15 points -- 10 in the second half.

"That guy was huge," Mocherman said. "We were told to double up if he ever got it inside, and it worked."

De Soto also hit on just 1 of 10 shots in the second quarter.

Sophomores Quinn Poythress, Trenton Schumer and Grant Ressel combined for nine of Notre Dame's points in the period, which ended with Notre Dame leading 25-13.

Poythress had eight points in the first half and finished with a game-high 16 points.

It's been part of a February trend for Poythress, who has scored as many as 29 points in a recent win over Perryville.

"He's developed into a scorer," Roberts said. "He's been averaging 23-24 [points] over the last five games. That's what he needs to be."

Poythress started earlier in the season but has been coming off the bench as of late. He entered Friday's game at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter, part of Robert's strategy to let his experienced players establish the energy level and allow his younger players to observe the action for a few minutes.

"For the best of the team, other people started, and it took a little pressure off me being a sophomore, and it's working right now," Poythress said.

Poythress said he's also been looking to attack more, and in the process is becoming the player Roberts envisioned.

"I think he's just really accepted his role," Roberts said. "He knows what he is -- he's a scorer for us, and his defense and energy have picked up, and he's becoming a really good teammate, too, which is what I expected out of him all year."

It's eased the scoring burden on DeBrock, who led the Bulldogs on most nights the first half of the season.

"It helps me to have shooters on the floor, and we can have [Jordan] Barber down low," DeBrock said. "Once we all start clicking, I think it will be hard to guard us."

De Soto got as close as 10 points early in the third quarter, but with the Bulldogs leading 27-17 less than two minutes into the half, Barber went to work. Barber, who finished with nine points, scored inside on three consecutive possessions to start a 15-4 run that pushed Notre Dame's lead to 21 points, 42-21, with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.

Notre Dame took a 45-28 lead into the fourth quarter and never seriously was threatened down the stretch.

The Bulldogs play their final regular season game Tuesday when Dexter visits before starting the Class 4 District 1 tournament.

De Soto 10 3 15 16 -- 44

Notre Dame 10 15 20 16 -- 61

DE SOTO (44) -- Garrett Keath 3, Brendon Roland 6, Jeremy Edwards 3, Sean Solomon 5, Kevin Sanders 3, Dominick Bays 2, Jake Patzner 15. FG 13, FT 15-18, F 20. (3-pointers: Edwards, Solomon, Sanders. Fouled out: Edwards)

NOTRE DAME (61) -- Cody DeBrock 7, Quinn Poythress 16, Jordan Williamson 8, Patrick Williamson 3, Luke Mocherman 6, Trenton Schumer 6, Grant Ressel 4, Jordan Barber 9, Tanner Shively 2. FG 19, FT 21-32, F 19. (3-pointers: DeBrock, Poythress. Fouled out: none)