Notre Dame advances to district final

~ The bulldogs will face Sikeston for the Class 4 District 1 title.

PERRYVILLE -- The tune-ups turned out as expected.

After top-seeded Sikeston finished off a 20-point win against Dexter on Wednesday night in the Class 4 District 1 semifinals at the Perry Park Center, Notre Dame blitzed Fredericktown with a 76-39 decision that put the two state-ranked teams in Friday's 7 p.m. championship game.

Notre Dame's win uncovered two unexpected facts.

Ryan Willen, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-8 senior, displayed zone-busting accuracy from 3-point range with four treys in a near flawless first half.

And the Bulldogs proved to be as unfocused as the next team when trying to build on a 27-point halftime lead.

"We got a little sloppy in the third quarter, when they were trying to do some things they don't normally do," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said.

"I guess we just lacked some intensity," Notre Dame senior Mark Himmelberg said. "It's hard when you're up by that many. We missed some shots we normally make, and it snowballed on us. It showed us we have to stay focused. We can't let down."

There's not much risk of that Friday night.

The Bulldogs (19-6) can be cut some slack for Wednesday night. With the biggest game of the season looming on the horizon, the Bulldogs steamrolled to a double-digit lead four minutes into the game and put up 49 points by halftime, despite scoring just one basket in the final two minutes.

"We got off to a good start and shot the ball well from the outside," Hale said.

The Bulldogs hit all six of the 3-pointers they tried in the first 10 1/2 minutes to build a 34-14 lead. Willen, the post player headed to Lafayette College, hit a career-high four 3-pointers on his way to 19 points in the first half. He finished the game with 25.

"They played just kind of a soft zone and packed the inside," said Willen, who knocked down three 3-pointers earlier this month against Central. "If that's open, coach doesn't mind if I shoot it. I'm not our first option out there."

But he's a pretty good one. Willen is third on the team with 22 3-pointers and has a team-best shooting percentage of 41 percent. He was 4-for-6 Wednesday.

Himmelberg hit one 3 on his way to nine points, and Austin Greer chipped in with 13 points.

Next comes top-seeded Sikeston, the state's third-ranked team. It finished off Dexter 59-39 to improve to 22-3.

Sikeston already has two wins against Notre Dame this year, but Willen missed both meetings back in December while recovering from a stress fracture, and Greer missed the first meeting.

"I'm excited to have a chance to play against them," said Willen, who expects to spend much of the night matching up with 6-6 all-state junior Michael Porter.

"Michael likes to play up top and drive and slash to the basket," Willen said. "When I watched him play tonight, he was always going to the basket and trying to get a shot and a rebound. He's probably the most athletic big man I'll play against all year."

Added Himmelberg: "Everything they do goes through Porter. We've got to keep the ball out of his hands and keep him from distributing it to his teammates."

Sikeston has scored in the 70s in both meetings with Notre Dame and averages 70.3 points per game. The Bulldogs can score as well.

The key, according to Willen: "Defense. It will be whichever team can stop the other team and come up with the defensive stop at the end of the game."

Notre Dame 26 23 10 17 -- 76

Fredericktown 10 12 10 7 -- 39

Notre Dame (76) -- Nick Koeppel 6, Alex Bader 4, Blake Gaddis 6, Mark Himmelberg 9, John Unterreiner 6, Austin Greer 13, Ryan Willen 25, Joseph Tolbert 1, Austin Glueck 6. FG 31, FT 8-14, F 14 (3-pointers: Willen 4, Unterreiner 1, Himmelberg 1. Fouled out: none)

Fredericktown (39) -- Alex Gibbs 4, Mike Crowell 11, Jake Sikes 9, Justin Walls 2, Codee Stamp 1, Jerod Williams 10, Eli Skaggs 2. FG 16, FT 6-11, F 14 (3-pointers: Sikes. Fouled out: none)