PORTSMOUTH — Notre Dame outscored Symmes Valley 17-8 in the third quarter, and held on to defeat the visiting Vikings 48-41 in a non-conference boys basketball contest on Friday night at Notre Dame High School.
The Titans (1-1) trailed the Vikings at the break by five points, but responded with a 9-0 run early in the third quarter.
“We needed that run because the first half was really sluggish for us,” Notre Dame head coach Matt Mader said. “We were not hitting shots (in the first half). When we hit shots, it seems to give us energy on the defensive end. We were not guarding the ball well and giving them shots. We talked about (Symmes Valley) getting to the offensive glass and we didn’t keep them off the boards that well in the first half. We came out and responded well in the next two quarters.”
Notre Dame junior guard Landon Barbarits drilled a three-pointer and Myles Phillips popped a 12-footer to spark the run.
“We just got back to basic motion and fundamentals and just tried to drive in the paint and drop down,” Mader added. “We put it together in the lockerroom and the kids responded and put together a solid second half. Overall, very pleased with the way they responded.”
The Titans’ big man Cody Metzler made two free throws, and Barbarits made good on a turnaround in the paint to tie the score at 25-25.
Notre Dame guard Connie Thomas made a nifty spin move in the paint and banked in a left-hander, as Metzler drained a three-pointer at the buzzer — giving the Titans a 33-29 lead at the end of the third.
Metzler, a 6-4 senior, finished the game with 15 points — while Barbarits had 10 points and Thomas came off the bench and added seven points with seven rebounds and two steals in the win.
The Vikings battled back in the fourth quarter — when Ayden Taylor connected on back-to-back shots to bring them to within three points at 44-41.
Mader noticed a potential momentum shift in favor of Symmes Valley, and called timeout with 2:20 left in the game.
“We wanted to settle down, so we called the timeout,” he said. “We wanted to get a really good look and Cody was the hot guy at the time. We wanted to get the ball in his hands there and just calm down. We had the lead, and we didn’t want to do anything costly at that point.”
Barbarits connected on a runner, and then stole the ball and fed it to Metzler, who took the ball strong to the hoop for the 48-41 lead and the win.
“Landon (Barbarits) is shifty and he’s solid and he stepped up his game and his play in the second half,” Mader said. “Connie (Thomas) played really well late and got in the lane and created some opportunities and hit some big shots.”
Symmes Valley got 15 from Taylor, and Logan Simpkins tossed in eight points.
Guard Ethan Smith scored only five points, but pulled down 11 rebounds and had three steals in the loss.
“We knew they hit the boards hard, and we sort of let them do that in the first half,” Mader said. “Our big guys got into some foul trouble, and we had to adjust there. We played aggressive and got into some foul trouble, so we have to fix that.”
The Titans returned home, and opened early Southern Ohio Conference Division I play, on Tuesday night against New Boston.
* * *
Symmes Valley 7 14 8 12 — 41
Notre Dame 7 9 17 15 – 48
SYMMES VALLEY 41 (2-3)
Jacob Cade 3 1-1 7; Logan Simpkins 3 1-2 8; Ethan Smith 2 1-2 5; Will Jones 2 2-6 6; Ayden Taylor 6 0-0 15; TOTALS 16 5-11 41; Three-point goals: 4 (Ayden Taylor 3, Logan Simpkins 1)
NOTRE DAME 48 (1-1)
Landon Barbarits 4 0-0 10; Connie Thomas 3 0-0 7; Aaryn Bradford 2 1-1 6; Cody Metzler 5 4-4 15; Marcellus Woods 1 0-2 2; Myles Phillips 3 0-0 8; TOTALS 18 5-7 48; Three-point goals: 7 (Landon Barbarits and Myles Phillips 2 apiece, Connie Thomas 1, Aaryn Bradford and Cody Metzler 1 apiece)
