Woodland hoops look to rebound - literally and figuratively - against Notre Dame

MARBLE HILL – There have only been three teams that have found success against a talented and balanced Woodland varsity boy’s squad this season, and one of those is Notre Dame.

The Bulldogs recently knocked off the Cardinals 56-43 in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament with a resounding fourth quarter, and the two teams will battle again tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Marble Hill.

“If you were a Woodland Cardinal fan,” Cardinal coach Shawn Kinder said of the holiday tournament, “then you couldn’t have been very satisfied.”

In that event, the Cardinals (9-3) dropped two of the three games in which they played and have won just twice in their past five outings. However, Kinder’s kids bounced back in their most recent game, a home rout of Richland (Essex) before having Friday’s home game with Kelly postponed until a later date this season.

Woodland has found success at both ends of the court this season, but surprisingly, its defense faltered late in the loss to Notre Dame.

“Our focus to start this year was our defense,” Kinder said earlier this season. “I felt that if we could get (defensive) stops, and we could rebound with the bigger schools, and a lot bigger teams, then we’d have a shot.”

Against Notre Dame, Woodland was successful in both of those aspects of play – for 24 minutes.

With the game tied at 33 early in the final period, the Bulldogs (4-7) tore off on a 23-10 closing run and its work on the glass was crucial to their success, according to first-year Notre Dame coach Jeremy Brinkmeyer.

"We just bought into trying to get rebounds," Brinkmeyer told Semoball.com following the victory. "We keep a stat of how many one-shot possessions, where they shoot it and we get the rebound. We didn't do very well the whole game but in the last quarter, we ended with eight, which is huge."

If Woodland is to reverse the outcome tonight, not only will it have to defend and then close out defensive possessions by rebounding, but it will also need offensive balance, which it has had in most games this season.

“That is pretty typical,” Kinder said of having an offensive balance with this group. “We have averaged almost four guys in double figures, and there have been games where we have had five and six guys in double figures.

“They are an impressive group and a good group to coach. I enjoy them.”

In the earlier win over the Cardinals, it was Notre Dame with a good dose of offensive balance.

Brett Dohogne led the Bulldogs with 15 points, Kolton Johnson added 11 points, and Trenton Schumacker and Hudson Dennis chipped in 10 points each.

“It was a team effort,” Dohogne told Semoball.com. “My teammates passed the ball pretty well. They saw me down low, and I just finished it.”

This matchup is an interesting twist to the schedule for both teams. The Cardinals and Bulldogs had not played since Dec. 26, 2018, in the annual holiday event before now playing twice in two weeks.