Notre Dame Prep ‘spot on’ against Cranbrook
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
PONTIAC — Pontiac Notre Dame Prep has been as predictable as the path of the tornado on the basketball court this season. It has been a season of ups and downs and lefts and rights for the Fighting Irish during the first half of the season.
On Tuesday, the Fighting Irish were right on target.
Notre Dame Prep kept pace in the CHSL-AA Division with a resounding 70-35 victory over visiting Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood.
SQUEEZING THROUGH: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior forward Michael Risi (No. 32 in white) tries to lean past the block of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrok Kingswood senior forward Jacob Chapman during Tuesday's CHSL-AA Division contest. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
Notre Dame Prep had an amazing 23 assists on 24 made baskets, shot a crisp 50 percent from the floor (24-for-48) and converted 17-of-24 free throws in the rout.
“I thought we played very well tonight. It’s kind of funny but we didn’t look too good in one of our losses last week. We have been a little bit unpredictable,” said Notre Dame Prep coach Brandon Jezdimir. “I think we did a nice job sharing the basketball in this game. WE did a good job spreading the floor and we knocked down a lot of shots in the first half. That gave us a chance to play a lot of different players and play a lot of guys of the bench. Our bench benefitted because our starters did a good job building up a lead.”
The Fighting Irish opened the game with a 13-2 run over the first 3:48 of the contest and never looked back. Notre Dame Prep led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter and 33-12 at the half.
The rout continued in the third quarter, as the Irish opened with a 12-6 run and eventually held a 51-24 deck through three quarters of play.
All 12 of Notre Dame Prep’s active players reached the scoring column with at least two points. Kellen McCormick, NDP’s 6-foot-8 senior, led the charge with17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
“I think when we play well we can play with just about anybody. This team has had some really god wins this year, offered McCormick, who has signed with Western Michigan. “We’ve played some really good teams and played some really good games and some really bad games. We’re definitely capable of playing really good as a team. I think we just need to be more consistent.
DRAWING CONTACT: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior forward Troy Sassack collides with Bloomfield Hills Cranbrok Kingswood sophomore Belvin Liles during the second quarter of Tuesday's contest. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“I do think we do a good job of moving the ball around. We have two good guys who are god in the past and two other guys that we bring in (in the frontcourt,” added McCormick. “We also have some really good spot-up shooters. When we play inside-outside basketball, it makes it easier to get our wings off and open up the floor for everybody.”
Troy Sassack, a 6-5 senior forward, added six points, 12 rebounds and four assists, senior forward Michael Risi followed with nine points, senior guard Ryan Pierce chipped in with eight points and senior forward Chad Barnhart contributed a fine floor game that included six points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals for Notre Dame Prep.
The Cranes finished the night a dismal 12-for-50 from the floor, good for 24 percent. The Cranes were also 0-for-16 from outside the three-point arc.
“Oddly enough, Monday was out best shooting performance of the season,” said Cranbrook Shane Finery. “We couldn’t miss in practice. We couldn’t make anything today. We were standing around, not moving on offense and we couldn’t make anything.”
Senior guard Sterling Morrow scored 17 points with four steals for Cranbrook, while junior guard Jason Miller twined eight points for the Cranes.
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