This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Notre Dame-Fairfield Falls To Immaculate In SWC Title Game

Poor second half dooms the Lancers in a 64-53 loss to the Mustangs, ND will take an 18-5 record into the state tournament

The Notre Dame of Fairfield boys basketball team played like word beaters in the first quarter. The second half, however, was a different story.

The result for the Lancers was a 64-53 loss to top-seeded Immaculate on Thursday in the championship game of the South-West Conference playoffs before a packed house at Weston, an outcome that didn't seem possible six minutes into the contest.

After building a 13-point lead in the first quarter and leading by six at halftime, the Lancers (18-5) scored only 21 points in the second half, including just seven in the fourth quarter.

Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We didn’t play well in the second half, and that’s because Immaculate took us out of what we like to do,’’ Notre Dame coach Vin Laczkoski said.

Earl Coleman tallied 21 points to lead Notre Dame, which dropped to 1-2 in SWC championship games under Laczkoski and now prepares for Monday's contest against No. 27 seed SMSA in the first round of the Class M state tournament.

Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Immaculate, which beat the Lancers 65-63 in the regular season, improved to 22-1 and won its first SWC title since 1997.

Despite the loss, Notre Dame seems poised to make a long run in Class M. The defeat snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Lancers, who are seeded sixth.

Notre Dame, which won the SWC title last year,  made it back to the final  following the midseason turmoil in which starter starter Tre McPherson and  promising freshman Marcus Blackwell were dismissed from the team.

In the first quarter, it appeared the Lancers were ready to deliver a quick knockout blow.They put on a clinic, limiting Immaculate to one shot and looking to run on misses.

Junior guard Dan Upchurch keyed the early surge as Notre Dame jumped out to a 15-4 lead on his runner with 2:11 left in the quarter. Coleman's drive made it 19-6 with 1:32 to go in the first.

We talked about coming out strong and trying to get a 20-point lead in the first half,’’ said Upchurch, who scored 14 points. “We were almost there. They kept playing and fought back."

Immaculate's imposing height wore down the Lancers, who also were bothered in the second half by the Mustangs' matchup zone that succeeded in slowing down the pace of the game.

Marco DeOliviera led Immaculate with 19 points, tournament MVP Daniel McCorkle added 17 and Felipe Teixeira contributed 11 for the Mustangs.

Immaculate pulled within 32-26 at the half and was fortunate to be only down six at the intermission, but the Mustangs imposed their will in the second half.

After Coleman's runner gave Notre Dame a 39-30 lead, Immaculate turned around the game with a 10-0 spurt, holding the Lancers scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes.

Teixeira's layup put the Mustangs ahead 40-39 with 3:24 left in the third, their first lead since scoring the opening basket of the game.

Coleman's two free throws with 38 seconds left gave the Lancers a 46-44 lead after three, but Notre Dame managed only one basket in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter. DeOliviera's two free throws put the  Mustangs up 50-46, their first two-possession lead.

Upchurch's baseline drive sliced Immaculate's lead to 51-49 with 3:43 left, but the Lancers experienced another drought, allowing Immaculate to put away the game at the foul line.

Fourteen of the Mustangs' final 16 points came on free throws as they finished 22-of-30 from the line, including 14-of-20 in the fourth period. The final score represented Immaculate's biggest advantage.

All losses hurt,’’ Laczkoski said. “But I’ve been around the block a little bit more. This one is on the back burner already for me. I’m already thinking about SMSA.”

Upchurch and Coleman were named to the SWC all-tournament team.

 

 

 

 


 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?