FORT MADISON —Notre Dame High School boys basketball coach Dan Kies turned and glared at his son, junior Gavin Kies, after an ill-advised lob pass sailed over his teammate's head and landed three rows up in the bleachers on the the Nikes' opening possession of the second half.
Just why was Coach Kies angy? Because his Nikes had just played a nearly perfect second quarter on Friday night in its 62-45 SEI Superconference South Division win over Holy Trinity at Shottenkirk Gymnasium.
In the second quarter, the Nikes could seemingly do no wrong. Their pressure defense and half-court trap stymied the Crusaders, limiting them to a meager four points and just seven shot attempts. Meanwhile, the Nikes turned every turnover into an easy basket on the other end, led by junior Gavin Kies, who poured in 13 of his game-high 18 points in that nearly-flawless eight-minute span.
The problem was, the Nikes had to play three other quarters. And the Crusaders outplayed the Nikes for most of the rest of the game.
All of which left Coach Kies frustrated, puzzled as why his team can't put four quarters like that second quarter together. The Nikes know their potential, but can't seem to reach it for a full 32 minutes.
"When we decide we're going to play good defense and use our length to put pressure on people and make it tough on them, it's easier bucket for us," Coach Kies said. "We moved the ball well in the half-court. We were able to hit some inside stuff and then get some kickout stuff for a couple buckets, we just get a lot better doing that."
"We started out bad the first quarter," Gavin Kies said. "We got on our run and started playing better defense and our offense started to flow."
Holy Trinity (2-8 overall, 1-7 South Division) took the early lead on baskets by Adam Rauenbuehler and Brant Holtkamp. The Crusaders never trailed in the opening quarter and took an 11-8 lead into the second quarter.
Notre Dame (7-4, 6-2) hit the Crusaders with a blitzkrieg over the next eight minutes, outscoring Holy Trinity, 31-4, to take a seemingly-comfortable 39-15 lead.
Gavin Kies began to heat up, and the Nikes' defense simply smothered the Crusaders at every turn. Gavin Kies scored on a conventional three-point pleay to open the quarter, followed with a steal that led to a layup by Jett Tjaden and drained a pull-up jumper in the lane. Kies was 5 for 6 from the field in the quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
"It was our defense. We played more aggressive, set better traps. That turned out for better offense," Gavin Kies said. "I was feeling it today."
"We just came out flat in the first quarter and decided not to do what we were trying to do," Coach Kies said. "They decided to play defense. They got up and did what they were supposed to as a team. Playing fullcourt. Just doing what they're supposed to do. We told them either you're going to lay or we're going to find someone else that will. They came out and gave the effort. It's just an effort thing, really."
But the Nikes reverted to previous form in the second half. Quentin Schneider and Matt Hellige began to take control and Reed Fehseke nailed a 3-pointer as the Crusaders trimmed the deficit to 16 by the end of the third quarter.
"We've been talking all year about effort and execution. I thought the whole game we had effort and three of the four quarters we had execution," Holy Trinity coach John Hellige said. "Tonight if we were playing by CBA rules, we might have won the game. It's something to build on for next week. I'm happy with where we're at, even though we're 2-8."
Ryle Koenig helped the Nikes hang on, scoring four of his 15 points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
After playing a nearly flawless quarter, the Nikes showed how good they can be. Coach Kies just wants to see it over a full four quarters on a regular basis.
"We have the capability to play with anyone," Gavin Kies said. "It's just the way we play. We play as a team."
"We know we're capable of playing with pretty much everybody we play," Coach Kies said. "We've been in every game. It's just a matter of playing complete games. We're building on it, but we've got to get rid of spells like that in games. We've got a quality team and a lot of balance. If we stay healthy and guys understand how to play four quarters, we'll be a threat, I think."
NOTRE DAME (62)
Gavin Kies 7-10 1-1 18, Mitchell Brent 0-5 0-1 0, Jett Tjaden 5-10 1-1 11, Jaxon Osborn 2-3 4-4 8, Ryle Koenig 7-13 1-2 15, Nicholas Skerik 0-3 2-2 2, Axel Tjaden 4-5 0-0 8, Sam Brueck 0-0 0-0 0, Brady Oleson 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Ty Russell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-49 9-11 62.
HOLY TRINITY (45)
Brant Holtkamp 1-2 0-0 2, Quentin Schneider 4-6 2-4 10, Reed Fehseke 2-9 2-4 8, Adam Rauenbuehler 1-3 2-4 4, Matt Hellige 8-14 1-1 17, Blake Crabtree 1-6 0-0 2, Jake Eaves 0-0 0-0 0, Chandler Rung 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Thornton 1-1 0-0 2, Vasin Thurman 0-0 0-0 0, Ryder Brune 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Thurman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-42 7-13 45.
Score by quarters
Notre Dame;8;31;12;11;—;62
Holy Trinity;11;4;20;10;—;45
Fouls: Notre Dame 12, Holy Trinity 11. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None. 3-point goals: Notre Dame 3-11 (Kies 3-4, Brent 0-1, Osborn 0-1, A.Tjaden 0-1, J.Tjaden 0-2, Skerik 0-2), Holy Trinity 2-9 (Fehseke 2-6, Holtkamp 0-1, Rauenbuehler 0-1, Crabtree 0-1).
Records: Notre Dame 7-4 overall (6-2 SEISC South Division), Holy Trinity 2-8 (1-7).