Notre Dame Holds Off Western

Brian Jones and the free-throw line had not been getting along.

Neither was Jones peacefully co-existing with the full-court press of Western High on Wednesday night at Notre Dame.

“They have a tough defense,” said Jones, a senior guard for the Knights.

Said Notre Dame Coach Mick Cady: “The toughest we’ve seen this year. But I was sure glad it was him at the line. Even though he’d missed two or three before.”

Actually, Jones had blown four free throws in the final quarter before preparing for two more with nine seconds to play in the Southern Section 3-A Division playoff opener.

But Jones, who minutes earlier missed two in a row, made both shots as the Knights held off a furious Western rally to win, 65-62, and notch their 13th consecutive win.

“I really didn’t have a good game and it showed in my free-throw shooting,” said Jones, who was eight of 12 from the line. “But at the end, I just cleared my mind, went to the line and busted ‘em.”

Notre Dame (17-8) led, 56-40, after Jones made a layup and foul shot in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

But Western (17-7) launched a 22-7 run to whittle the lead to 63-62 in the final seconds. The Pioneers’ rally peaked with 54 seconds to play when Sam Sabbara, who scored a game-high 23 points, stripped the ball from Jones in the backcourt and converted an easy layup.

The Pioneers, who last year lost to Rolling Hills on a last-second shot in the opening round, pressed defensively and offensively. The fourth-quarter rally included vicious high-fives and Coach Greg Hoffman escorting substitutes into the game with an earful of instructions and an emphatic shove.

“I’ve got tough kids that just won’t die,” Hoffman said. “It was no great coaching on my part.

“We’ve pressed all year, there was no reason to change now. But it was kind of a Catch-22 situation. We needed the pressure to stay in the game, but by the same token, the press has gaps in it and they found them.”

It was a Catch-22 situation for Jones, too. He caught the Pioneers napping enough to sneak through and score 22 points.

Jones, who was six-of-16 shooting, made two of five three-point shots--both in the first half--as Notre Dame took a 35-27 halftime lead.

Senior forward Mike Rimkunas, playing in place of injured starter Errol Small, hit consecutive three-point shots in the second quarter to give the Knights a 26-20 lead and transform what was a tight and tentative game for 10 minutes into an apparent Notre Dame rout. The score was tied, 16-16, after a quarter.

In the third quarter, Rimkunas, who finished with 11 points, made two free throws, then stole the inbounds pass for an easy layup to give Notre Dame a 46-36 lead, its largest to that point.

“Boy, he did come through on both ends,” Cady said of Rimkunas, the Knights’ regular sixth man.

Senior guard Ken Hicks scored 19 points on eight-of-18 shooting.