Subtle reminder: Words written on Genenbacher’s wrist inspire strong shooting effort as QND beats Hannibal

QUINCY — Aden Genenbacher pulled back the sleeve of his hoodie to reveal some white athletic tape wrapped around his left wrist and two words written on it.

“Don’t suck,” it read.

There’s a cross underneath it, too.

“I have to think, ‘I need to be aggressive tonight,’” said Genenbacher, a senior shooting guard for the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team. “That’s where the ‘Don’t suck’ part comes in. I put the cross because I wouldn’t be here without Christ.”

As well as someone reminding him to be aggressive.

“It was someone from that area over there,” Genenbacher said, motioning toward the QND student section. “She always tells me, ‘Don’t suck.’ So I always have to write ‘Don’t suck’ on my wrist so I remember.”

So who is the mystery inspiration?

“Ah, we’ll leave that anonymous,” Genenbacher said with a smile.

Whomever it may be better keep saying it after the effort Genenbacher put together Saturday night.

He made three 3-pointers in the first half and four overall as part of a 17-point effort in the 59-43 victory over Hannibal at The Pit. The Raiders swept a pair of weekend games, improved to 4-2 and gave themselves some momentum heading into a week that looks like a buzzsaw.

On tap for QND are three undefeated opponents with games Tuesday at home against Palmyra (Mo.), Friday at Camp Point Central and Saturday at home against Quincy High School.

“We were just focused,” junior guard Alex Dance said. “We wanted to defend our home court and keep the wins coming on our home court. That was a big part of it. We just needed to be focused. … I think we’re playing well now, but there’s a lot of room to improve.”

One aspect the Raiders seem to have figured out is the ability to hold an opponent at arm’s length.

Leading 32-20 at halftime, QND watched its advantage bob between 10 and 14 points before sophomore forward Jace Allensworth made a pair of crucial plays to get the lead to 45-31 at the end of the third quarter. First, Allensworth made a 3-pointer from the left wing. Then, he completed a three-point play.

A similar sequence happened in the fourth quarter. Hannibal went on a 6-2 run to close within 47-37 with five minutes remaining in regulation. Genenbacher answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:16 to play to gain some needed separation.

“You can’t get rattled when teams go on runs,” Genenbacher said. “The coaches talk about that. You’re going to get punches thrown at you, but you just have to throw punches back.”

Big shots and defensive stops are equally effective punches.

“We challenged them in the second half to own your gaps,” QND coach Kevin Meyer said. “Just keep them in front of you. If we take away their dribble drive, that keeps us solid. Then, when they miss shots, go get the ball. That’s what we did.”

They stayed steady through it all.

“We kind of calm down and go on a run of our own,” Dance said. “We just have to continue getting stops. That’s what we need to focus on.”

Finding shooters helps, too. Allensworth finished with 16 points and four different QND players buried 3-pointers.

“We have a bunch of great shooters and everyone has their night,” said Dance, who had nine points. “We kept feeding it to the right guy, and they were knocking down shots, which was huge.”

Senior forward Quinn Thomas led the Pirates (3-3) with 19 points, and junior guard Clayton Neisen added 10 points.