Dohogne hits 1,000-career points, Notre Dame routs Saxony Lutheran 64-41

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Just about every time Brett Dohogne stood inside the Notre Dame High School gymnasium, he would peek up at the blue and white 1,000-point club banner to read the names of his father, Danny, and older brother, Dawson.

Flash forward to Friday night and there will now be a third Dohogne added to the prestigious list.

The senior forward dropped a game-high 20 points en route to joining the 1,000-point club, as the Bulldogs cruised past Saxony Lutheran 64-41 at Notre Dame Regional High School.

“It means a lot to me,” Dohogne said. “Every day at school I see on the wall there's a board with the 1,000-point club, and I see their names. And as a kid, I always wanted to follow in their footsteps. So, this is truly special.”

Even better, his milestone shot came late in the game, so the whole night built up to Dohogne, who was more than ready.

“I just want to thank my teammates,” Dohogne said. “They really moved the ball and did their job. I stayed patient and they just gave me the opportunities.”

Dohogne was the spark plug of the offense on Homecoming Night, as his layup with 3:25 left in the game hit the 1,000-career point mark, much to the delight of the jam-packed home crowd. The do-it-all senior also had four rebounds and a pair of steals in the game.

Head coach Jeremy Brinkmeyer said there could not have been a player more deserving of the achievement.

“I’ve known this kid since he was as little as little could be,” Brinkmeyer said. “It’s kind of surreal to be able to coach him and then see him be successful, and then his dad coached me and I coached Dawson. I’m glad God has blessed me with the Dohogne family and to let me be a part of their ride, and I owe a lot to them.

“Brett does a lot more than just 1,000 points. He's a great Catholic young man that does things the right way and has become such a great leader. And, you know, 1,000 points is great, and it should be applauded, but I'm more proud of the young man that he is.”

While Dohogne wrote history and finished with a team-high in points, fellow senior Kolton Johnson took over on the perimeter to the tune of 13 points and four 3-pointers as Notre Dame (10-11) rebounded from a tight four-point loss to Class 3 foe Woodland on Wednesday.

“After Woodland, we just learned to take each loss and grow from it,” Dohogne said. “And we realized that we’ve got to keep on working every day, and then we were ready to go.”

Brody Harden finished with 10 points for the Bulldogs, while senior Trenton Schumacker had a game-high seven rebounds.

Notre Dame raced out to an early 12-0 lead before Dohogne and Johnson drained back-to-back 3s to put the Bulldogs up 33-16. The 6-foot-4 Dohogne also scored nine of the Bulldogs’ first-half points, routinely working over whoever the undersized Crusaders sent to defend him.

A 14-point halftime deficit proved to be the high point for Saxony Lutheran (6-15), which was routed in the second half despite shooting 54% from long range on the night.

Notre Dame never led by fewer than 16 points after the break, while Dohogne’s milestone shot made it 56-35 late in the fourth to put an exclamation point on the Bulldogs’ sound performance.

Jackson Wilson led Saxony Lutheran with a team-high 12 points and junior Nashaun Davis added 10.

“We had great energy, great focus,” Brinkmeyer said. “First quarter has been kind of a bugaboo for us lately and not starting off well. The last four games we played before this one we've gotten into a 15-point deficit, at least, and clawed our way back to tie it or take a lead. It's really hard to do. When we do that, we have to be perfect the rest of the game. So, we made a real big focus on trying to come out dialed in, not so much with our effort, but with our mental focus. We did that. We did a great job.”

Notre Dame returns to its home court on Tuesday when the Bulldogs host Hillsboro (9-8) at 7:30 p.m. Saxony Lutheran gets a road game at Jefferson (Festus) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.