Notre Dame breezes past New Egypt in postseason tune-up
LAWRENCE >> There was little doubt that the Notre Dame boys basketball team, facing a New Egypt program mired in a down season, would win its final postseason tune-up. But it was still an important self-evaluation game for the Irish.
Guards Leon Jones and Justin Yu combined for 33 points Saturday afternoon as Notre Dame won its ninth in a row, 72-33, to finish the regular season with 18 victories — tied with Trenton for the most in the CVC — entering this week’s Mercer County Tournament.
“It’s just good going into the tournament, just confident that we’ve put a bunch of wins together,” Yu said. “Something we wanted to focus on was just running all of our plays through, just running the sets that we don’t get to run in regular games and stuff like that.”
That included a press defense, which Notre Dame deployed early and often to cause myriad New Egypt turnovers. After the Warriors scored the first basket of the game, the Irish ran their visitor out of the building with a 20-0 run stretching into the early portion of the second quarter.
“Our 2-1-2 three-quarter court (press) has been coming along,” head coach Rich Roche said. “Sometimes we use it just to contain and we don’t trap out of it and we just use it to slow teams. Last night we really started to try to get them to trap a little bit more out of it and it was very successful. So it’s still a work in progress, but I think it’s a pretty good weapon for us.”
Roche said he considered trying to schedule an extra game for his team this Tuesday because the Irish won’t play again until their first-round MCT game Thursday. Ultimately he decided rest was more important since they have had two consecutive three-game weeks.
Notre Dame is expected to be one of the top-three seeds when the county bracket is unveiled Monday.
“We’ll come in we’ll lift and then we’ll do just a lot of shooting on Monday, and then we’ll use Tuesday and Wednesday to get ready for whoever is next,” Roche said. “It’s playoff time. What we’ve been telling the guys all year — and honestly, we’ve stuck to it — is, it’s just about the next game. So same thing here. It’s about whoever we face Thursday. They’ve been really good about just being focused on the task in front of them and not getting too far ahead of themselves.”
That mindset has established steady improvement over the course of the season. Roche praised Jones’ evolution at point guard, Mike Kane’s versatility on the wing and timely contributions from post players.
Starting 6-foot-4 forward Quentin Autry is the team’s primary rebounder and shot blocker. And at 6-foot-7, Steve Graver is a key cog off the bench who can make midrange jump shots.
“I think one of the things that has made us better is we’re getting a little bit more depth,” Roche said. “Steve Graver has improved tremendously. We’re getting more out of the inside game with him and Quentin. Usually you look and you say, ‘OK, you want to have as many guys in double figures as possible.’ Most games, him and Quentin together, that’s double figures from that spot. And we have a little bit more size than some of the teams, which is unusual. So we’ve been getting better bench play.”
Sophomores Mike Jean (four points) and Christian Hobdy (two points) scored for the first time in their careers Saturday. In total, 10 different Irish players contributed to the scoreboard.
Now, they’re hungry for more in playoff games.
“We’re really proud of the hard work we had this summer,” Yu said. “If you ask anybody, you wouldn’t believe that Notre Dame’s 18-3 right now, coming off the season we had last year. It’s just big for us.”
NEW EGYPT (33)
Harris 4-1-10, Dolan 3-0-6, Steen 4-0-9, Miller 1-0-3, O’Donnell 0-2-2, Raucci 1-0-3.
Totals — 13-3-33.
NOTRE DAME (72)
Jones 7-0-17, Yu 6-0-16, Kane 4-1-10, Graver 3-0-6, Weber 3-0-8, Feretic 0-2-2, Daly 1-2-5, Harriott 1-0-2, Jean 2-0-4, Hobdy 1-0-2.
Totals — 28-5-72.
New Egypt (3-18) 2 7 18 6 — 33
Notre Dame (18-3) 15 14 23 20 — 72
3-point goals: Harris, Steen, Miller, Raucci (NE), Yu 4, Jones 3, Weber 2, Kane, Daly (ND).
DELRAN 56, STEINERT 54
Mario Mazur had a game-high 19 points, but the Spartans let a onepoint lead entering the fourth quarter slip away on the road Saturday. STEINERT (54)
Mazur 7-1-19, Whitaker 5-2-15, Lal 5-0-10, Gbayor 4-0-8, Frederick 1-0-2.
Totals — 22-3-54.
DELRAN (56)
Murphy 4-8-16, Morrison 5-1-14, Hunt 4-1-13, Johnson 5-0-11, Burrell 0-2-2.
Totals — 18-12-56.
Steinert (10-13) 12 11 19 12 — 54
Delran (15-6) 18 10 13 15 — 56
3-point goals: Mazur 4, Whitaker 3 (S), Hunt 4, Morrison 3, Johnson (D).
WOODBRIDGE 80, LAWRENCE 56
Aaron Jones netted 18 points for the Cardinals, who were doomed Saturday by a four-point first quarter. LAWRENCE (56)
Jones 6-3-18, Hemsley 4-1-10, Johnson 2-3-9, O’Reilly 2-28, Barnes 2-0-5, Rodriguez 1-2-4, Aiyar 1-0-2.
Totals — 18-11-56.
WOODBRIDGE (80)
Hymes 10-0-21, Henry 4-6-17, Blaine 6-2-14, Smith 1-12-14, Lane 2-0-4, Mapoy 2-0-4, Brown 1-0-2.
Totals — 26-20-80.
Lawrence (9-13) 4 15 17 20 — 56
Woodbridge (7-12) 21 19 22 18 — 80
3-point goals: Jones 3, Johnson 2, O’Reilly 2, Hemsley, Barnes (L), Henry 3, Hymes (W).