Boys Basketball: Notre Dame renews acquaintance with St. Joseph
BY PATRICK KELLY Contributor February 11, 2012 10:42PM
2/11/12. Niles. St. Joseph's Reggie Johnson pressures Notre Dame's Donte Stephenson. Notre Dame hosted St. Joseph at Notre Dame High School. | Tracy Allen~for Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: March 17, 2012 8:08AM
Turnovers ultimately turned out to be the demise for Notre Dame when it faced St. Joseph Saturday night, but when the Dons were leading through stretches of the game, it usually revolved around success from behind the arc.
Notre Dame eventually dropped a 66-60 decision to the Chargers in Niles, but three-pointers helped build an early first-half lead.
Greg Leifiel buried two threes at the end of the first quarter and then opened the second period with a long-distance bucket to give Notre Dame a 24-18 cushion. Justin Hallaron came off the bench to add a three in the first period, which the Dons closed on an 11-2 run.
“Greg is one of our best shooters, he can shoot it,” said Notre Dame junior guard Matt Mooney. “We actually have plenty of shooters, which actually helps us against the defense. It opens up driving lanes for our drivers, because then they have to stay with our shooters, so that is a big part of our offense.”
Unfortunately, Notre Dame’s shooting sprees were also followed by slumps. After Leifel’s bucket opened the second quarter, the Dons then missed eight straight shots and allowed St. Joseph to take a 26-25 advantage after a 10-1 run.
After trailing by two points at the half, Notre Dame (17-7) made another run and took a 43-38 lead midway through the third after a three-pointer and bucket by Mooney. Another dry spell followed, though, and the Dons did not score for over three minutes toward the end of the third, which St. Joseph closed on a 11-1 run.
Notre Dame did not hit a three-pointer in the fourth quarter, and trailed the rest of the way. A late basket by Mooney (4 rebounds) did slash the deficit to 58-56 with just over a minute left, but the Chargers (15-8) sealed the game by hitting two baskets and four free throws in the closing seconds.
“Overall, I am disappointed in myself,” said Mooney. “I thought we played OK, but definitely not good enough to win, and against a team like that we have to play better.”
Mooney led Notre Dame with 13 points, while Joe Ferrici added 12 tallies and six rebounds. Sophomore Duante Stephens scored two buckets in the last eight seconds to finish with 11 points.
The Dons turned it over just four times before the intermission, but had eight miscues in the third quarter and a total of 11 in the second half.
“I thought their pressure was good throughout the game,” Mooney explained. “We struggled down the stretch, and some of the balls slipped out of our hands. We could not get it done.”
Even though the game didn’t count in the conference standings, both programs are familiar with each other from their days in the East Suburban Catholic.
“I hope we play them next year, and then the following years,” Mooney said. “Because they are a competitive team and each year it is a competitive game between us. So I would definitely like to keep that going.”
Comments Click here to view or make a comment