Notre Dame takes command, sinks Naperville Central

Naperville Central had everything under control going into the final quarter of its Friday night Wildcat Hardwood Classic semifinal against Notre Dame.

The Redhawks had just surged ahead. They had their transition game in high gear. They were creating havoc on defense.

And then Notre Dame (10-1) came out and got stops on four consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 straight points and rallying back from 31-26 down for a 48-41 win and a spot in Saturday's 8:45 p.m. championship game against Lake Park. Naperville Central will play Fremd in the third-place game at 7:15 p.m., but right now, that feels hollow.

"We didn't execute down the stretch. I thought we lost our composure a little bit," Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said.

After controlling the game for the better part of three quarters, the Notre Dame fourth-quarter run really smarted.

Notre Dame surged ahead as guard Joe Mooney (17 points) threw in an awkward drive and scored off a steal. Center Amman Becar (game-high 20) hit the first four of his eight consecutive free throws in the quarter. Then he added a baby hook and Notre Dame had seized control.

"At the beginning of the fourth quarter, we talked about playing with a sense of urgency," said Dons coach Tom Les.

The Redhawks (10-5) did swing the momentum back briefly on Matthew Meier's runner for a 3-point play and then his feed to Nate Dahl for a fastbreak hoop and a tie game.

But Notre Dame wouldn't crack. Becar, Dan Messina and Mooney all hit free throws as Notre Dame pulled away and Naperville Central struggled against the Dons' defense.

"We just did some uncharacteristic things," said Kramer, referring to turnovers and missed open looks. Despite strong games from Meier and energy-in-motion guard Emmanuel Rugamba (10 points apiece), the Redhawks never contained Becar around the basket, although Harrison Hallstrom challenged him on both ends and shot well.

"We climbed our way back," Les said.

"We just didn't make a couple of buckets we needed to make," said Kramer. "It came down to execution. Defensively we were pretty solid."

Naperville Central limited Mooney to 17 points - and just 7 after three quarters - after he'd put 36 on Prospect in his prior game.

"We've just got to play a full game," said Kramer, looking ahead to Fremd (10-2).