Raiders unleash 1-2-2 press, force 25 turnovers to overwhelm Aurora Christian by 39 points
NORMAL, Ill. — The first round in the small school boys basketball bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic figured to be chock full of competitive games, with seven of the 16 teams receiving votes in the first AP state polls.
Three top seeds narrowly won by a combined nine points, and No. 13 seed Bloomington Central Catholic nipped No. 4 seed Bishop McNamara 64-58.
However, no low-seeded team was more impressive in the first round than Quincy Notre Dame.
The 12th-seeded Raiders, who entered Thursday night’s game at Normal West High School with losses in three of their last four games, used a 1-2-2 press and unrelenting pressure on the basketball to force 25 turnovers and steamroll No. 6 seed Aurora Christian 63-24.
The victory sends Notre Dame (6-3) into Friday’s quarterfinals against unbeaten Pecatonica, the No. 2 seed in the small school bracket and the No. 2 team in the Class 1A state poll, at 9 p.m. at the Shirk Center. The Raiders lost 55-50 to Pecatonica in the first round of last year’s tournament.
Aurora Christian (9-3) entered Thursday’s game averaging more than 62 points per game, but QND’s zone press flummoxed the Eagles. The Raiders forced eight turnovers in the first quarter, then shut out Aurora Christian in the second quarter until Joe Decort made a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining before halftime to cut the deficit to 29-15.
“We knew who their good ballhandlers were, and we knew that we’d press those guys,” junior Robbie Reed said. “When they would pass to the bad (ballhandlers), we’d take a step so when they would take their dribble, they would pick it right back up. Then that ball’s dead, and we’re on their good ballhandlers.”
Jacob Baumann made a 3-pointer for Aurora Christian to start the third quarter, but Notre Dame scored the next 10 points to push the lead to 21 points. Aurora Christian never got closer than 17 points thereafter, and the Raiders gave up just one basket in the final 10 minutes and 46 seconds.
“I’ve talked to the guys about our tempo, trying to get up and down the court, our defense and offensive execution, and they’ve done a pretty good job,” Raiders first-year coach Greg Altmix said. “We just haven’t been consistent with it, and I thought tonight we were pretty consistent. I’m not going to say we’re close to 32 minutes yet, but we’re definitely better tonight than what we have been in the last week or so.
“You can have a bad shooting night, but there’s no excuse for having a bad night on a defense. I think we’re starting to learn a lot about each other. I’m learning a lot about the guys, and I think the guys are starting to understand what it is that I expect when they hit the court. I really couldn’t have asked much more of the guys tonight.”
Aurora Christian made just 10 of 38 shots overall, while Notre Dame shot 54.3 percent from the floor (25 of 46).
Leading the Raiders in scoring was Reed, who finished with a career-high 15 points. He also was effective in guarding Aurora Christian’s 6-foot-8 Jordan Weeks, who finished with just two points.
“He’s one of those who I love coaching,” Altmix said. “Robbie plays with a joy, a love for the game, and that’s something that I hope is contagious.”
The Raiders appeared to be overwhelmed in a 30-point loss to Quincy High School on Dec. 21, but Altmix thought the experience helped his squad.
“We got a pretty good whuppin’ there, but we came out of that with some confidence,” he said. “We really had a good postgame talk in the locker room, and I tribute a lot of that to my coaching staff. They really helped the guys see some things. We’re all trying to bring this thing together, because we know we’ve got some talent in that locker room.
“What we need to do is to harness it and then unleash it, and I think we unleashed some of it tonight.”
“This is probably one of the best games we’ve played,” Reed said. “I mean, coming off QHS, that was a whole different speed for all of us. Coming down here and playing with these guys compared to QHS, I mean, it’s a big difference.”
Ten players reached the scoring column for the Raiders, with Carter Miller adding 11 points.
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