Hungerford Delivers a Victory for Notre Dame

All last season, David Hungerford of Notre Dame High videotaped varsity games. He relaxed in the bleachers and imagined what it would be like if he were in a pressure situation with the game on the line.

It happened Wednesday night in a Southern Section Division III-AA boys’ basketball playoff opener. Hungerford was fouled with 6.5 seconds left and the Knights clinging to a two-point lead against visiting Workman.

The crowd was roaring.

“I heard it, but I cleared it out,” Hungerford said.

He made both free throws to secure Notre Dame’s 62-58 victory. It was the Knights’ first playoff appearance since 1996, and it almost became a disaster.

Notre Dame (21-6) held a 16-point lead at the outset of the third quarter, but Workman (16-8) never stopped attacking. The Lobos, with no player taller than 6 feet 2, cut the deficit to eight points at the end of three quarters.

Finally, with 7.7 seconds left, the Lobos were in position to tie the game.

But Freddy Lemus missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation. Hungerford got the rebound, was fouled and clinched the victory.

The Knights had missed three one-and-one opportunities in the fourth quarter to allow the Lobos to come back. But Workman was even worse from the line, making five of 14 free throws in the game.

Mike Luderer led Notre Dame with 21 points, 18 in the first half when the Knights opened a 36-23 lead. Cody Pearson had 18 points.

The heroes were the 6-6 Hungerford and guard Derrick Hennessy, juniors who played junior varsity last season.

Hennessy made consecutive layups in the final 2 1/2 minutes to keep the Knights ahead and finished with nine points.

Hungerford’s free throws provided relief for Coach Rob DiMuro, who has taken a team that was 2-10 in the Mission League last season into the round of 16.

“Every step we’ve taken has been uncharted ground,” DiMuro said. “These guys are resilient, hard-working and unselfish. Every down period we’ve worked right through it.”