C4D1: Doniphan, Notre Dame boys roll into semifinal round of district tournament

DEXTER — Notre Dame freshman Logan Landewee gave his team a lift in the second quarter in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 Boys Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the Bearcat Event Center.

Landewee helped the fourth-seeded Bulldogs ratchet up the intensity in the second quarter, and they rallied to beat fifth-seeded Kennett 82-50.

Kennett led for nearly all of the first quarter before Landewee’s insertion into the lineup in the second that sparked an 8-0 run.

“I thought the spark that started it was … Landewee coming in the game, speeding us up and making us play harder,” Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner said. “We had a lot of freshmen step up out there and do some things that sparked our veteran team. That’s what it takes. They all know it. They all realize it. They realize a freshman came out there and made us start playing hard, and they’re OK with that.”

In Saturday’s other first-round game, third-seeded Doniphan beat sixth-seeded Perryville 65-35.

The Bulldogs will face top-seeded New Madrid County Central in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the BEC. Doniphan will face second-seeded Dexter in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Indians led for almost all of the first quarter, as they shot 50% (8 for 16) from the field while Notre Dame committed six turnovers.

Greg Dennis’ 3-point play gave the Bulldogs a brief 3-2 lead, but Kennett regrouped and twice led by five points: 15-10 on a fast-break basket by Ben McMullan and 17-12 and Elijah Jackson’s mid-range jumper.

Drew Vandeven’s 3-pointer sliced the deficit to 17-15, but McMullan made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to give the Indians a 19-15 lead heading to the second quarter.

After McMullan scored to open the second, the Bulldogs scored eight-straight points to take a 23-21 lead with 5:06 remaining. Landewee’s 3 delivered the go-ahead points.

Kennett tied the score twice before halftime, but back-to-back baskets by Quin Hunter and Brett Dohogne gave the Bulldogs a 29-25 halftime lead.

“We came out a little lackadaisical,” Unterreiner said. “They came out ready to go. When you’re playing a team that’s got a player like (Ben) McMullan, you can’t come out flat. You just can’t. Luckily, he didn’t catch fire and get hot, but he easily could have.”

McMullan finished with a team-high 20 points, and D’Shun Wilson had 14 for the Indians, who finished the season 5-20.

Hunter scored 35 points to lead the Bulldogs. Gregory Dennis and William Steward added 12 points.

The Bulldogs finished off Kennett in the third quarter, holding a 32-12 scoring advantage.

“At halftime, we talked about effort and not being scared to lose (and playing) to win the game,” Unterreiner said. “It wasn’t X’s and O’s. We played a lot harder in the second half.”

Steward made three 3-pointers, as the Bulldogs stretched their lead to double digits. Steward’s first two 3s sparked an 11-2 run to give them a 40-29 lead.

Steward’s third 3-pointer ignited a 9-0 run, increasing his team’s lead to 49-31 on a fast-break basket by Reece Callow.

Hunter finished on a pass inside by Kolton Johnson, sending Notre Dame to the final quarter with a comfortable 61-37 lead.

Kennett 19 6 12 13 — 50

Notre Dame 15 14 32 21 — 82

KENNETT — Ben McMullan 20, D’Shun Wilson 14, William Gaines 8, Elijah Jackson 4, Kamden Crafton 2, Ashton Williams 2. FG 22 FT 5-11 F 11. (3-pointers: Ellis. Fouled out: none.)

NOTRE DAME — Quin Hunter 35, Gregory Dennis 12, William Steward 12, Logan Landewee 6, Brett Dohogne 5, Reece Callow 4, Brock Clippard 4, Drew Vandeven 3, Blake Anderson 1. FG 33 FT 7-9 F 9, (3-pointers: Steward 4, Landewee 2, Dohogne, Hunter, Vandeven. Fouled out: none.)

__Doniphan 65, Perryville 35__

The Dons came out aggressively on both ends of the court, pressuring Perryville and utilizing the fast break to take a 20-4 lead after one quarter.

Perryville committed eight turnovers and shot only 2-for-10 (20%) from the field.

Kameron Barton scored eight first-quarter points, including a dunk following a turnover for a 10-2 lead, and he assisted a JD Burton basket for a 16-4 lead.

“We came out pressuring a little bit in the first quarter and built a pretty good lead and never really looked back,” Doniphan coach Daniel Cagle said. “I didn’t think we played really well in the second quarter. We played sloppy on offense the whole game. We missed a lot of easy ones, threw the ball away a lot, but we took care of business and we’re looking forward to Dexter Tuesday.”

The Pirates cut into the lead early in the second quarter behind a pair of 3-pointers by Jackie Truong, who scored his team’s first 10 points. Andrew Terbak’s turnaround jumper cut the lead to 22-12, and he was the first player to score a point other than Truong.

The Dons increased the lead to 15 (27-12) on a steal and a layup by Barton, and they took a 30-18 lead into halftime.

Max Owen scored seven points in the third, and Perryville shot only 13% (2 for 15) from the field, allowing the Dons to take a commanding 43-22 lead into the fourth.

“I feel like we weren’t great defensively,” Cagle said. “We did still hold them to (35). I thought they missed some easy ones they should have made under the rim, and we didn’t block out at times. We’ve played much better defense than that.”

Ethan Jones scored a game-high 24 points for Doniphan. He went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Owen added 19 points, and Barton had 10.

Truong paced Perryville with 15 points.

Perryville finished the season 2-25.

Perryville 4 14 4 13 — 35

Doniphan 20 10 13 22 — 65

PERRYVILLE — Jackie Truong 15, Grant Smith 8, Jondreus Ward 4, Jackie Fritsche 2, Dalton Jenkins 2, Andrew Terbrak 2, Robert Ussery 2. FG 13 FT 6-10 F 12. (3-pointers: Truong 3. Fouled out: none.)

DONIPHAN — Ethan Jones 24, Max Owen 19, Kameron Barton 10, JD Burton 6, Tristian Bryant 5, Nolan Czerwonka 1. FG 26 FT 12-17 F 10. (3-pointers: Jones. Fouled out: none.)