Southeast Missourian Player of the week: Notre Dame's Nathan Meystedt

Not even a chipped tooth could slow down Notre Dame's Nathan Meystedt.

The senior took a hit to the mouth but kept on playing in the SEMO Conference boys basketball tournament third-place game Friday. He finished with a game-high 21 points in the Bulldogs' 52-44 victory over Central.

"Right in the first quarter, a guy was dribbling and we bumped heads," Meystedt said.

The dental problem actually started against Central in last year's SEMO Conference tournament.

"I got my actual tooth knocked out last year against Central, and it just happened to be the same thing this year," Meystedt said. "Same tournament, same game. It's weird."

Meystedt was the lone Notre Dame player to score more than eight points against Central.

"He's a player," Central coach Drew Church said about Meystedt. "He's been through the wars and knows what to do. We didn't do a very good job of stopping him in any way."

Meystedt scored at least 20 points in all three games for the Bulldogs during the SEMO Conference tournament.

"He's so consistent, and against the level of competition we've played the first four games, for him to be averaging 21 a game is tremendous," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "It's only going to get better."

Meystedt scored 24 points in Notre Dame's 67-40 win in the opener then dropped 20 in his team's 78-63 loss to Sikeston in the semifinals.