Notre Dame boys lose Plano title, but still learns about themselves

Sunday
Dec 31, 2017 at 12:01 AM

Ryan Wooden for the Journal Star

When Tom Lacher decided last year to enter his Notre Dame boys basketball team into the Plano Christmas Classic, the coach had no idea what to expect.

Playing in a 24-team tournament two hours away from home with no familiar opponents could have theoretically been both a good and a bad thing. However, it didn't take long for the Irish to figure out they belonged and they nearly captured the crown in just their second effort on Saturday night.

The 10th-seeded Irish advanced all the way to the championship game, where they lost to No. 1 seed Burlington Central Rockets, 44-39 in overtime. 

"We came up here because we wanted to see different styles of play and play some teams that we don't know and they don't know us," Lacher said after the loss. "It's a good change of pace and change of scenery.

"This week we learned that we can play the way we always play even though we are young. If we buy in and we embrace what Notre Dame basketball is and has to be in our area, we'll be all right."

The shooting of junior guard Joe Gustafson kept the Irish afloat early. He knocked won a trio of first-quarter 3-pointers and finished the game with 14 points on his way to all-tournament team honors.

"It's always a good thing for our team when we can get some shots to fall," Gustafson said. "It gets our confidence going and then on the defensive side that's where we take our pride."

In the fourth quarter, Irish freshman Noah Reynolds split the opposing defense to get into the lane and hit a hanging floater to tie the game 37-37 with 40 seconds left. But after forcing a turnover on the final Burlington Central possession of regulation, the Irish lost track of time and jacked up an early shot instead of making the extra pass for a layup to win the game.

"We missed four layups and we missed that pass," Lacher said. "Connor Dillon (who also made the all-tournament team) came up with a great steal and it was loud, but it there were just some execution things.

"But we're young and we got better. That's all you want. You want to see improvement."

Sunday
Dec 31, 2017 at 12:01 AM

Ryan Wooden for the Journal Star

When Tom Lacher decided last year to enter his Notre Dame boys basketball team into the Plano Christmas Classic, the coach had no idea what to expect.

Playing in a 24-team tournament two hours away from home with no familiar opponents could have theoretically been both a good and a bad thing. However, it didn't take long for the Irish to figure out they belonged and they nearly captured the crown in just their second effort on Saturday night.

The 10th-seeded Irish advanced all the way to the championship game, where they lost to No. 1 seed Burlington Central Rockets, 44-39 in overtime. 

"We came up here because we wanted to see different styles of play and play some teams that we don't know and they don't know us," Lacher said after the loss. "It's a good change of pace and change of scenery.

"This week we learned that we can play the way we always play even though we are young. If we buy in and we embrace what Notre Dame basketball is and has to be in our area, we'll be all right."

The shooting of junior guard Joe Gustafson kept the Irish afloat early. He knocked won a trio of first-quarter 3-pointers and finished the game with 14 points on his way to all-tournament team honors.

"It's always a good thing for our team when we can get some shots to fall," Gustafson said. "It gets our confidence going and then on the defensive side that's where we take our pride."

In the fourth quarter, Irish freshman Noah Reynolds split the opposing defense to get into the lane and hit a hanging floater to tie the game 37-37 with 40 seconds left. But after forcing a turnover on the final Burlington Central possession of regulation, the Irish lost track of time and jacked up an early shot instead of making the extra pass for a layup to win the game.

"We missed four layups and we missed that pass," Lacher said. "Connor Dillon (who also made the all-tournament team) came up with a great steal and it was loud, but it there were just some execution things.

"But we're young and we got better. That's all you want. You want to see improvement."

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