ND 'DOGS SNIFF OUT BIG UPSET

With only a 4-5 record entering Friday night's Class 2A battle against state ranked Kelly, the Notre Dame Bulldogs weren't having much fun this season.

But Friday night's 67-65 home-win over state-ranked Kelly showed the Bulldogs what they've been missing.

With the score tied 65-65, Anthony Ressel rebounded an errant shot by teammate Zach Miller and dropped the ball back through the net before the final horn sounded to give the Bulldogs a big upset.

"We ran a clearout for Zach ... he forced a shot, but `Big A' (Ressel) got himself in the right position, fought for that rebound and put a gigantic shot in at the buzzer," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet.

Ressel was just fighting for position under the hoop when Miller's wild shot floated into his hands.

"I didn't really see it," Ressel said of Miller's shot. "I was concentrating more on blocking out."

The victory avenged an 80-68 loss to Kelly in the University High School Christmas Tournament and evened the Bulldogs' record at 5-5. Kelly, ranked 10th in 2A, fell to 11-2.

Ressel's winning shot rolled around the rim before finally falling through the net. His teammate's burst off the bench and mobbed their new hero as the horn sounded.

"I put up a pretty poor shot, but `Big A' was there," Miller said of Ressel. "He grabbed it, put it in and we all hounded him. It was a lot of fun."

"I'd never been thrown to the ground like that," Ressel said, recalling the Bulldogs' celebration in the middle of the floor with a grin. "I thought I was playing a football game."

No, it was certainly a basketball game and Ressel -- not normally an offensive threat -- was a big part of it with a season-high 10 points. Including his game-winning shot, the 6-foot-6 junior drilled two free throws with 1:08 left that gave Notre Dame a 65-63 lead.

"This was a big game for him," Janet said. "Anthony has not done much for us, but he can do a lot for us. He grew up tonight and he's going to help us."

Ressel was one of four Bulldogs scoring in double-figures. Michael Wehner led Notre Dame with 19 points followed by Miller's 15 and Josh Eftink's 13.

"We played our best basketball of the season," Miller said. "Everybody that came in the game played extremely well."

Kelly got 19 points from Denver Stuckey and 17 from Jim Hulshof.

"Notre Dame stepped up and played well tonight," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels. "They played very disciplined and did a real nice job with their defense. They hurt us bad, but we'll bounce back."

Kelly controlled play for most of the first half, shooting 7 of 8 from inside the 3-point arc in the first quarter to take a 21-10 lead. A putback by Kelly's Russ Mothershead before the halftime buzzer put the Hawks ahead 36-27.

Trailing 40-27 early in the third quarter, Notre Dame finally started to click. Consecutive 3-pointers by Miller and Eftink to close the third quarter gave the Bulldogs their first lead since early in the first quarter. The 3-pointers were part of an 8-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 51-49 lead.

"Eftink and Miller stepped up and hit some big shots," Mangels said. "Notre Dame does a good job in this building. They played their style of basketball."

The Hawks didn't play their normal style in the final quarter. Kelly uncharacteristically missed its final five free throws in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame built a lead as big as five points.

"This is one of the toughest places to come into and play and our kids didn't handle it very well," Mangels said. "We usually hit our free throws better."

Trailing 62-57 after a 3-pointer by Eftink with 2:51 left, the Hawks battled back to tie the score at 63-63 on two 3's by Hulshof. After two free throws by Ressel put the Bulldogs back ahead, Stuckey tied it again 65-65 on a driving jumper with 50-seconds left.

Notre Dame controlled the ball the rest of the game, with Ressel providing the last-second winner.

"This is just what the doctor ordered for our team," Janet said. "We've been looking for something to get us going. This was a great game for us."