Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / John Gaines Photography
DES MOINES — Another day, another hero for the Notre Dame High School boys basketball team.
In Tuesday’s 68-62 win over Belevue in a Class 1A state quarterfinal game at the Casey’s Center, there were myriad heroes for the Nikes.
Senior all-state guard Shay Stephens did his part, scoring a game-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
On this afternoon, there were several players who stepped up around Stephens to spur the Nikes on to the state semifinals.
Fourth-ranked Notre Dame (25-2) will play top-ranked Fort Dodge St. Edmond (24-2) in a Class 1A state semifinal game at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Casey’s Center.
When the Nikes needed them most, the supporting cast stepped into starring roles.
“Obviously basketball is not a one-man sport. It was really important for my teammates to work together, get each other open and just play the game the right way,” Stephens said. “It was big. I have great teammates who help me get open and help get me the ball.”
Early on, Notre Dame senior Payne Prottsman came up big. His opening 3-point shot set the tone for the Nikes. He scored all eight of his points in the first half as the Nikes took a 34-18 halftime lead.
“We’re not necessarily looking for him to get a quick look at three, but his confidence is built up and his senior leadership has gotten so much better the second half,” Notre Dame coach Dan Kies said of Prottsman. “I don’t think the moment is too big for him right now. He’s ready for it. That’s huge. We need somebody to be able to come out and make a shot. A couple other guys struggled and that’s fine But you have to have two or three guys step up and be ready to contribute.”
Junior L.J. Harris came up big, especially in the second half. He scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds — six offensive — to go along with three steals, two assists and a blocked shot. He also helped limit KeShawn DeShaw, Bellevue’s leading scorer, to just one point in the first half.
Freshman Kellan Porter knocked down a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and sank two free throws to help the Nikes seal the win.
Senior Eli Oleson and juniors Griffin Kies and Tatum Warner had key plays in the second half which helped the Nikes survive and advance.
Oleson drained a clutch mid-range jumper midway through the third quarter to help the Nikes stem the tide after the Comets had cut the lead to six points.
“It was big shot. It felt good. I kind of struggled a little bit, but that’s all right. I made one that mattered and kept us ahead. It was good to see it go in,” Oleson said. “The next possession I had a pass to Shay and he made a three. That was huge. I could feel the momentum shift right there.”
“He’s been struggling a little bit, but he was still confident enough to attack,” Coach Kies said of Oleson. “We tried to tell him don’t settle for threes. Run the floor, get transition baskets and attack middle. That’s where he’s been really strong if he can get to the middle. It wasn’t his best shooting day, but he made a shot when it was important. That was really big.”
Griffin Kies, who came up huge in Notre Dame’s district final win against Holy Trinity, canned a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter after Bellevue had crept within five points.
“I really didn’t think I was going to get that open, but it felt nice when I saw it go in,” said Griffin Kies, who scored 12 points, including 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the last 1 minute, 5 seconds.
“I think they were trying to be a little more physical with him and take him off the 3-point line, which they did for the most part,” Coach Kies said of his youngest son. “We were lucky enough to run a set there where they came off and they had to lift somebody and he found an open spot and they moved the ball well enough to get him there. Once again take the shot when we need it. That was huge.”
Warner, who scored on a pair of layups in the third quarter, drew the fifth foul on DeShaw, sending him to the bench with four minutes remaining in a nine-point game. DeShaw had poured in 10 points in the third quarter.
“I saw the ball. I saw him go up for it and I went up for it also and he ended up getting a foul called,” Warner said. “That was a huge foul. He was hot in the second half. He played really well. We weren’t playing so hot on offense so we needed to find a different way and defense was the way.”
“Tate is just a pest in there,” Coach Kies said. “He does a lot of good things defensively. He’s a hustle kid. He goes in there and rebounds with the giants. He’s not always going to throw the stats up on the board as far as scoring, but there’s a reason we keep putting him out there. He can get after it. He competes. What else can you ask for?”