Seniors propel Notre Dame boys basketball team past Sikeston

Notre Dame had a night full of senior moments against Sikeston on Friday night.

And a combination of leadership and forgetfulness worked out just fine for the Bulldogs.

Six seniors provided all the points, and Notre Dame forgot about last week's loss to the defending Class 4 state champions in the SEMO Conference tournament and beat its district rival 62-54 on Friday night.

None of the current six seniors had a single point the last time Notre Dame defeated Sikeston, which came two years ago -- also at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Nathan Meystedt led the charge with a game-high and season-high 27 points, while fellow senior Cody Heisserer tallied 14.

The Notre Dame bench reacts to a made shot against Sikeston during the third quarter Friday. (Laura Simon)

"For me, being on varsity, it's the first time we've ever beaten them," said Meystedt, who scored his team's first 10 points. "We beat them at home two years ago, but it feels so good because they're such a great team."

Notre Dame improved to 3-3 on the season and avenged a 15-point loss suffered eight days earlier.

Sikeston used a 24-4 scoring burst in the previous meeting to beak away from a third-quarter tie and cruise to the win.

"The last game we were not consistent," said Notre Dame senior Jordan Reddin, who finished with eight points. "We kind of fell apart. But this second half we just coast. We just played as a team."

Notre Dame encountered more second-half problems as recently as three days earlier. The Bulldogs lost a double-figure lead in the fourth quarter against New Madrid County Central, which resulted in a heartbreaking 57-54 loss at home.

Notre Dame's Jordan Reddin sails in for a layup during the second half Friday.

"We came off a hard loss against New Madrid," Meystedt said. "That was tough for us, but we definitely responded and came together as a team. We all played great. We all wanted it."

Notre Dame stalled late against New Madrid and saw the nonaggressive strategy backfire.

"That was tough, but it made us focused and come together as a team," Heisserer said. "It was just a learning experience that helped us a lot."

Sikeston scored the first five points in Friday's game against Notre Dame, but the home team went into attack mode for the remainder of the contest. Meystedt pulled Notre Dame even with an 18-footer and a 3-pointer, but Sikeston took its final lead of the game, 7-5, when Keldon Warfield scored from close range midway through the first quarter.

Notre Dame closed the quarter with a 9-0 spurt to take the lead for good. Meystedt continued his early one-man assault, tying the score with a 15-footer and putting Notre Dame ahead for good, 9-7, on a fast-break basket with 3 minutes, 32 seconds left in the first quarter.

Notre Dame fans reacts to their team's 62-54 win over Sikeston on Friday.

Meystedt added a free throw before his teammates got in on the act. Siebert scored inside off a feed from Patrick Williamson, then Heisserer put Notre Dame ahead 14-7 when he converted on a pass into the post from Jonathan Lynch.

Sikeston used a 6-0 burst in the first two minutes of the second quarter to close the gap to 14-13, but Notre Dame pulled away to a 27-19 lead by halftime.

Terry Jamison had scored Sikeston's first points of the game on a 3-pointer, but the visitors missed their remaining 10 3-point attempts in the half. Sikeston missed all five of its shots from behind the arc during the second quarter.

"We wanted to contest every shot and not allow them to get into the paint to create," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "We just tried to keep them in front of us, and our boys executed our game plan."

Sikeston fired 27 3-pointers in the game, but made just five. Notre Dame attempted just three 3-pointers and made one.

"We did force some shots," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "We've got to be in more of a position to get the ball inside, and that will be a point of emphasis. But you have to give them credit because they took a lot of things away from what we normally try to do."

Notre Dame flawlessly navigated the second half after crashing upon the rocks days earlier.

"Tonight we played to win. We didn't play not to lose," Roberts said. "And when we play to win, we're a tremendous team."

Notre Dame upped its scoring pace in the second half, repeatedly turning missed shots or Sikeston turnovers into fast break opportunities. An assortment of layins, interior passing and drives into the lane propelled Notre Dame to 64 percent shooting in the second half.

"Sometimes it takes that loss to get you in gear and kind of motivate the guys to be successful," Roberts said. "We executed for four quarters, and that's something we hadn't done this whole, entire year. When we execute for four quarters, we can play with anybody."

Sikeston crept to within 34-29 on a J.T. Jones basket with 3:35 left in the third quarter, but Notre Dame responded with a 10-2 run to close the quarter with a 44-31 lead.

Sikeston cut the deficit to seven points during the final eight minutes, but Notre Dame stayed a step ahead on 7 of 10 shooting in the quarter.

Notre Dame looked for opportunities to get the ball inside when Sikeston came out to pressure the ball.

"We kept looking to score and were smart about it," Meystedt said. "We waited for a good shot."

Jamison led Sikeston with 17 points, while Jones finished with 11.

Sikeston finished 24 points below its output from the previous meeting with Notre Dame. Vashawn Ruffin, who scored 22 points in that game, was held to five points Friday.

"We knew he could shoot the ball well, so we just tried to pack it in and keep an eye on where he was at and just try and throw a hand up in his face," Meystedt said.

Sikeston fell to 7-2 seven days after it saw a 35-game winning streak end with a three-point loss to Charleston in the title game of the SEMO Conference tournament.

"You have to give [Notre Dame] a lot of credit," Holifield said. "They took a lot of what we do away from us. I was really impressed with their energy and effort."

Notre Dame shot at least 50 percent in each of the four quarters, held its own on the boards and had just 14 turnovers in the game.

"We finally put a full game together," Siebert said. "It felt great."

Sikeston has ended Notre Dame's last three seasons in the Class 4 District 1 final, so the home team was taking extra satisfaction in the win.

"They understand this is one game," Roberts said. "This is not our season. We have a long way to go, but I'm sure they're going to enjoy this tonight, because I will."

Sikeston 7 12 12 23 -- 54

Notre Dame 14 13 17 18 -- 62

SIKESTON (54) -- Kil'Ron Coleman 4, Caleb McGee 8, Vashawn Ruffin 5, Terry Jamison 17, J.T. Jones 11, Markeith Bratcher 5, Keldon Warfield 4. FG 20, FT 9-15, F 20. (3-pointers: McGee, Rufin, Jamison 3. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (62) -- Jonathan Lynch 3, Jordan Reddin 8, Nathan Meystedt 27, Joe Siebert 6, Cody Heisserer 14, Ryan Hale 4. FG 25, FT 11-20, F 15. (3-pointers: Meystedt. Fouled out: none)