The Bulldogs rallied for a 60-50 victory to earn a berth

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The underdogs that nobody thought had a chance to win their district are packing their bags for a trip to Columbia and the 2005 MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown.

Notre Dame coach Paul Hale picked up career win No. 500 on Saturday night, as the Bulldogs (14-16) defeated Salem 60-50 in the Class 4 quarterfinal at the Farmington Civic Center.

"There's no sweeter way to get No. 500," Hale said. "I've been coaching for over 20 years, and this will only be my second trip to the final four, so it's a really great feeling. I am just so proud of these boys."

The Bulldogs used a 16-9 third-quarter spree and a 20-for-25 performance from the free-throw line to earn the victory.

Senior Bryce Willen led the way with 20 points, and Alex Ressel chipped in with 12.

Salem opened the second half with a 7-2 scoring spurt before Ressel's offensive putback kicked off Notre Dame's rally.

Trailing 39-31 with 4 minutes, 12 seconds to play in the third, the Bulldogs ripped off the final 12 points of the stanza to take a 43-39 cushion into the final quarter.

Willen started the run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws on consecutive Notre Dame possessions.

Mark Unterreiner then hit a 3-pointer to knot the score at 39-39 with 1:53 left in the quarter. Less than one minute later, Ressel scored to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night. Unterreiner then capped the streak with a bucket that closed out the third quarter with Notre Dame leading by four.

The Bulldogs extended that lead to 51-43 with 4:45 to play on the strength of two baskets by Willen and a nearly flawless performance from the line.

Notre Dame connected on its first 14 from the charity stripe.

"That's how we shot the last two games," Hale said. "We've really been hitting our free throws, and that was a big difference."

Four straight free throws pushed Notre Dame to a 55-48 lead, and the Tigers could not get the margin to less than five the rest of the way.

However, it was not a cakewalk for the Bulldogs, as a poor Notre Dame shooting performance in the first period allowed the Tigers to take a 13-7 lead into the second frame. Salem led by as many as 13 points (26-13) in the second quarter.

Willen then grabbed an offensive rebound and converted it into points to spark an 11-2 Notre Dame run that trimmed the margin to 28-24 with 2:02 left in the half.

"He's just put us on his back and carried us," Hale said of his senior, who is in his fifth start since returning from a torn ACL. "He is just a heck of a ballplayer. and I can't say enough about him."

Jeremy Brinkmeyer scored nine points in the victory.

The Tigers were led by Patrick McCoy's 13 points. Trevor White and Wes Hampton added 11 points each for Salem.

The Bulldogs will take on O'Hara at 9 a.m. Friday at Mizzou Arena on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

NOTRE DAME 60, SALEM 50

Salem 13 17 9 11 -- 50

Notre Dame 7 20 16 17 -- 60

SALEM (50) -- Patrick McCoy 13, Trevor White 11, Wes Hampton 11, Mitchell Lundy 7, Nick Johnson 6, Garrett Sheppard 2. Totals: FG 18, FT 11-14, F 21 (3-pointers: Hampton 2, McCoy 1)

NOTRE DAME (60) -- Bryce Willen 20, Alex Ressel 12, Jeremy Brinkmeyer 9, Mark Unterreiner 5, John Eric Klein 5, Kirk Boeller 5, Frankie Ellis 2, Abe Dirnberger 2. Totals: FG 18, FT 20-25, F 17 (3-pointers: Willen 1, Brinkmeyer 1, Unterreiner 1, Boeller 1)