Surprise big play lifts Notre Dame

Dallas Moreland decided it was time for a head-to-head matchup with Jack Cooley.

Few people watching the Class 4A Niles North boys basketball sectional semifinal saw it coming Wednesday night in Skokie.

Moreland is a 6-foot-2 Notre Dame High School senior who was scoreless.

Cooley is a 6-9 Glenbrook South senior who will be playing his college basketball in the Big East at Notre Dame.

None of that mattered to Moreland as he fearlessly took the ball into the lane right at Cooley and drew a foul with 1:45 to play. He hit the first of 2 free throws to break the game's final tie as third-seeded Notre Dame beat No. 7 Glenbrook South 64-62.

"He was just playing off me the whole game," Moreland said. "I hadn't really gone at him and he wasn't expecting it."

Moreland's little surprise play helped put the Dons (20-8) in a sectional final for the first time since 2002. They'll face top-seeded Glenbrook North (22-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

Cooley finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds but took only 1 second-half shot from the field to finish 5-for-7 against Moreland and 6-2 football player Billy Hughes. Cooley was 10-for-12 on free throws.

"I thought we did a great job on him and everything he got he had to work for," said senior guard Mike DiGregorio, who had 17 points and 5 assists.

"We played him pretty good but it was everyone," Moreland said of the perimeter pressure that made getting the ball to Cooley in the offense difficult. "No one can just guard him 1-on-1."

The Titans (17-12) also had another option after a 3-point play by Shawn Wallace (14 points) put the Dons up 50-44 with 5:24 left. Ryan Hopkins answered with consecutive 3-pointers as he finished 6-for-11 from the arc and 10-for-17 from the field for a game-high 26 points.

"(Cooley) is a very unselfish player and he attracts two guys, especially all of our guys at 6-2 and under," said Notre Dame coach Tom Les. "He did a good job of finding (Hopkins) and he hit shots."

There were three more ties before Moreland's free throw. He also rebounded a missed drive in traffic by the Titans' Trent Monckton at 1:25.

Jimmy Martin hit 2 free throws with 48 seconds left and Jake Everly slapped a loose ball ahead to Moreland for a layup and 62-57 advantage with 30 seconds remaining.

Two free throws by Doug Wollney (15 points) with 10.6 seconds left made it 64-59.

The Dons didn't have to inbound the ball as the Titans were out of timeouts when Hopkins hit a 3 with five seconds left.

"I thought they played very well," said Titans coach Scott Nemecek, "and I thought we played pretty well, too."