Notre Dame downs Tioga; Zwierlein scores 1,000th point

SOUTHPORT - Tioga started quickly, but on a night standout Eric Zwierlein scored his 1,000th career point, Notre Dame proved too much in a 71-59 win in opening-round action of the Section IV, Class C playoffs.

Zwierlein was on fire in the first quarter - knocking down four of his first five shots, including a pair of 3-pointers and a conventional three-point play - in an 11-point outburst in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game to give the Tigers a 13-11 lead.

From that point on, the game was all Notre Dame.

Tioga coach Dave Reese, whose team lost a pair of lopsided decisions to the Crusaders in their IAC regular-season match-ups, said he thought the Tigers needed to try something different.

"We came in tonight and wanted to try some stuff we've been working on, but we really haven't done much all year in games.

"We tried to go up-tempo and that's what we got, we just couldn't stay close enough the whole way," he said.

"We lost by 25 and 26 earlier in the season, so I told the guys we had nothing to lose, let's try to press them and try to run traps," added Reese. "It wore us down and we didn't get to rotations and (Notre Dame) was getting easy buckets."

Notre Dame Bill Hopkins said the first two games against Tioga were forgotten by the time the two teams stepped on the court Tuesday night.

"Everyone was telling me tonight we'd have no problems, but I've been around a long time and I don't take anybody for granted.

"I knew Eric Zwierlein is a very good player and he's a tough kid," said Hopkins. "He's a good scorer and he's gonna play Division III ball next year.

"I knew we were going to have some difficulties, but in the end I thought we guarded him the best we could," he said. "We certainly shut down the other guys and we scored."

Reese said the tempo of the game proved too much.

"We were up 13-11 late in the first quarter and you could almost see the fatigue starting to set in at that point," he said. "The pressured full (court) and we were trapping three-quarters court or half-court the whole time and it just wore us out and we couldn't keep up."

Hopkins said his team's perimeter defense and depth was the difference.

"I think what we do is wear people down. We can shuffle a bunch of guards at people … if you're only six or seven deep, we're gonna keep coming at you.

"You might get us in the first quarter. You might get us in the first half, but eventually we're going to get you," said Hopkins. "Then, we're going to take your legs away and effect your outside shot - then we're going to force some turnovers."

Hopkins was also happy to be able to show that he has more than two scorers on his team.

"I think when we can show that other people can score besides our top two guys it gives opposing teams a lot of problems," Hopkins said. "If I'm opposing coach I've got to stop Bryan Brown's shooting, stop Tom Agan's scoring in transition, Darius Garvin's scoring. Colin White didn't score tonight and he's capable of scoring in double figures."

With Tioga up 13-11 with 3:15 left in the first quarter, Notre Dame big man Matt Davis converted an offensive rebound into a conventional three-point play, then Shane Manning drained a 3-pointer moments later to trigger a 15-0 lead for a 26-13 lead with 5:29 left in the first half.

After a Troy Rogers jumper, off an assist from Zwierlein, stopped the Notre Dame run momentarily, Tom Agan scored on a drive to the bucket, then knocked down a pair of free throws in advance of a 3-pointer by Manning as the Crusaders scored seven straight points to take a 33-15 lead with 3:02 left in the first half.

Zwierlein, who was held scoreless for more than eight minutes, stopped the Notre Dame run with a pair of free throws, then Rogers, off a nifty pass in transition from Steven Lounsberry, banked in a lay-up to cut the lead to 33-19, but the Crusaders scored the final six points of the half to take a 39-19 lead into the intermission.

Zwierlein and Rogers each knocked down 3-pointers and scored five points apiece in a 10-5 Tioga spurt that cut the Notre Dame lead to 44-29 with 5:16 left in the third quarter, but the Crusaders scored seven straight points, triggered by a Brian Brown 3-pointer, to take a 51-29 lead with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

The highlight of the night for the Tigers came when Zwierlein knocked down the second of two free throws with 4:56 left in the game for his 1,000th career point.

"(Zwierlein) has been an absolute pleasure to coach," said Reese. "He's a leader on the floor and in the locker room and he's been a coach on the court.

"He is the all-around player," added Reese. "He does it all."

Zwierlein gave credit to all his teammates over his four-year varsity.

"It means a lot. It shows hard work pays off, but I just can't give enough credit to my teammates," he said. "They do the dirty work. They set the screens, they pass me the ball, they run the offense.

"I just want give thanks to all my teammates over the last four years," he added.

Zwierlein, who will take his talents to Fredonia in the fall, also reflected on the end of his high school career.

"It's sad," he said. "I wouldn't have wanted to play on any other team.

"But I guess it's time to start another chapter," added Zwierlein.

The Crusaders maintained its lead until the final two minutes of the game when Tioga's bench cut the lead to 11 in the waning moments.

Reese was pleased with his team never-say-die attitude in the second half.

"We were down 20 at half and we came out and played even in the second half," he said.

"The last couple minutes were a little crazy and the score looks a little better than it was, but it was basically a 20-point game in the second half," added Reese. "I give my guys a lot of credit for their effort in the second half."

Zwierlein led all scorers with 26 points and had six rebounds and four assists, while Rogers tossed in 14 points, grabbed eight boards and blocked four shots. Zach Williams and Dalton Wojcuich each scored five points and Lounsberry chipped in with four.

Agan led Notre Dame with 21 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots, while Manning and Brown added 14 apiece and Martin Wyatt chipped in with six. Manning also had five boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Garvin also had two points, five assists and a block.

Notre Dame, now 16-2, will host the winner of Tuesday's Moravia Friday night.