No. 2 Notre Dame takes down No. 7 St. Mary's with balanced attack
February 24, 2024 by Ben Stapley, AZPreps365
St. Mary's arrived at Notre Dame Prep in style Friday night, flexing a 17-game win streak and an entourage of fans that exceeded gym capacity.
But thanks to a balanced offensive showcase and deadly three-point shooting, Notre Dame sent the Knights home quietly with an 85-72 quartefinal victory that advances the Saints to the semifinal round next Wednesday night.
Brennan Peterson led Notre Dame with 22 points, while Bryce Quinet scored 20 points, including five three-point field goals. Sophomore Brody Postorino added 17 points, as the Saints raced out to a 43-25 lead by halftime behind 10 three-point field goals from five different players.
Brody Postorino hits his 2nd 3-pointer of the 1st half for Notre Dame, which has built a 32-17 lead over St. Mary’s pic.twitter.com/iV9TioqovM
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) February 24, 2024
Notre Dame (25-4) earns a rematch against No. 6 Millenium, which dealt the Saints their most recent loss, a 20-point setback near the end of the regular season. If Notre Dame gets the shooting and balance it displayed Friday night, it may have a better chance against Millenium.
"The three ball was going in tonight and we played a great game," Bryce Quinet said of Notre Dame's performance. "We've got one goal and that's to win a state championship, so we're ready to do whatever it takes."
Quinet's 11 points in the first quarter set the tone for the game and his teammates, as Peterson, Postorino, and Hayden Stebbins all got in on the three point clinic.
Notre Dame has a 43-28 lead over St. Mary’s at halftime and the Saints are on fire from long distance. This time Brennan Peterson knocks down his 3rd of the half with the dish from @BryceQuinet . @ndprephoops pic.twitter.com/zP0gisyjC1
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) February 24, 2024
Perhaps the most surprising stat of the first half and Notre Dame's 18 point lead was that leading scorer Anthony Baston Jr. (23 ppg) did not score in the first half.
"Anthony's an incredible player and an even better teammate, but we're capable of winning as a team," Quinet added. We can pick eachother up no matter what kind of game we're in."
Baston added eight points in the second half, but Notre Dame made a strong team statement against a red-hot St. Mary's squad.
Caspian Jones with the steal and dunk for St. Mary’s, cutting the Notre Dame lead to 11 (69-58) with 3:00 left to play. Too little too late? pic.twitter.com/ffMB2wnsla
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) February 24, 2024
The Knights got an all-world effort from Styles Phipps, who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds. But St. Mary's struggled shooting from the field the most of the game, and shooting 5-18 from three-point range. Caspian Jones scored 16 and Cameron Williams added 13 for St. Mary's, but the Knights could never get closer than 11 points in the fourth quarter.
St. Mary's finished 23-7.
