Notre Dame moves on to Division 1 semis
Notre Dame’s boys basketball team is motivated by snubs.
The Knights were placed in Division 1 for the CIF Southern Section playoffs rather than the Open Division, and Mercy Miller did not receive McDonald’s AllAmerican honors. It stung in the moment, but those two perceived snubs lit a fire under the Knights.
“I feel like our team put in the work day in and day out,” point guard Angelino
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Mark said. “We beat Harvard-Westlake at their house. We lost to Sierra Canyon, no excuses, but I feel like we deserved it.
“But it’s all right, we’re gonna use that as motivation. They put us in D1 and we’re going to win this.”
Notre Dame used that motivation to beat Santa Margarita 63-50 at home Tuesday night to advance to the CIFSS Division 1 semifinals.
Miller recorded a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds. Zach White added 14 points.
Notre Dame started off the game with a 6-0 run that was stopped by a corner 3-pointer by Santa Margarita’s Brayden Kyman.
The Eagles maintained a physical presence in the paint, making it difficult for the Knights to score but also allowed for opportunities at the free-throw line. Notre Dame made six out of nine free throws en route to a 14-11 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Jonathan Moxie threw down a two-handed dunk to end the quarter, but White hit a corner 3 at the start of the second quarter to re-ignite Notre Dame.
The Knights used another scoring run, this one of nine points, to gain an advantage. Turnovers interrupted their rhythm, but Santa Margarita scored limited points off of their possessions.
Mark dished the ball to Mark Lewis with 1:30 left until halftime and although the pass appeared to hit the top of his head, Lewis still scored on a jumper.
Notre Dame’s rebounding created second-chance opportunities in the third quarter. Miller found the ball after a teammate’s missed 3-pointer and took it in for a layup and a 4130 lead.
Miller was being double-teamed throughout the night, but managed to score through his determination. He found the basket on a jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter while being triple teamed.
Santa Margarita outscored Notre Dame 18-17 in the fourth quarter, but the Knights had built up enough of a lead to finish the game out strong.
DEANA THOMPSON
School: HarvardWestlake
Sport: Basketball
Year: Junior
Noteworthy: Thompson scored 25 points and pulled down six rebounds to help Harvard-Westlake beat Hart 67-63in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Wolverines went on to beat Windward in the second round and will play Redondo today in the quarterfinals.