Notre Dame postseason magic runs out in overtime against Livingston

Notre Dame's Akil Sledge, right, and others celebrate a win over Chattanooga Christian Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 at Sequatchie County High School.
Notre Dame's Akil Sledge, right, and others celebrate a win over Chattanooga Christian Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 at Sequatchie County High School.

It wasn't the dream finale he may have envisioned, but Saturday night's overtime loss to Livingston Academy in a Region 3-A quarterfinal will forever be a positive memory for J.P. Nerbun.

The personable Notre Dame boys' basketball coach, who will soon leave the school to be with his wife after she took a job in Pennsylvania, was appreciative of his team's effort as the Fighting Irish's Cinderella postseason ended with a 59-54 overtime defeat at Phifer Gymnasium.

Notre Dame (9-19), coming off a dramatic district tournament championship run as the No. 6 seed, led by seven points in the third quarter, only to watch the Wildcats (18-13) rally to force extra minutes in a game that had 10 lead changes and several ebbs and flows.

"I'm so happy with that game," an emotional Nerbun said. "The score wasn't what I wanted, but we played really, really good basketball. That was one of the more high-quality games I've seen all season."

After the Irish took a 29-27 halftime lead on consecutive 3-pointers from Peter Berce and Derwin Lewis, the momentum continued into the early part of the third period. Another Berce trey and back-to-back athletic drives from C.J. Grier put Notre Dame up 38-31 with 2:27 left in the quarter, causing Livingston coach Jimmy Miller to call a timeout and make a game-changing decision.

"We don't see anybody in our league that can compete with that team athletically, and we know how well-coached they are," said Miller, who elected to play more straight-up defense to start the game instead of the team's usual aggressive trap.

"We got down and we had to change it up and trap a little, which is how we play in our league. We just couldn't afford to do that all game because of their athleticism."

The Wildcats ended the period with a 12-3 run, which included back-to-back steals and layups and ended with Xander Miller's 3-pointer for a 43-41 lead.

A Kolby McGowan drive tied it at 47 with 4:44 to play, but it was the Irish's last field goal of regulation as the Livingston defense picked up and the Notre Dame shooting went suddenly ice cold. After Grier's free throws tied the game at 51 with 51 seconds to play, Livingston ran the clock down and got the shot it wanted, but Miller's jumper was off.

However, the Wildcats scored overtime's first five points, including a Wade Nealy rebound putback. Meanwhile, the Irish missed two free throws and five 3-point shots over the first three minutes of the extra session and did not score until Grier's 3-pointer at the end of the game.

Miller paced the winners with 29 points, with Nealy adding 12. Grier led Notre Dame with 22, while Berce added 12 and Akil Sledge pulled a game-high 11 rebounds.

"This is my last season here, and it was a special one," Nerbun said. "The bottom line is our kids' character is phenomenal. They just got better and better as people every day, and that's all I could ask for."

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.

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