Notre Dame boys battle in state title game, fall short vs. Goodpasture

Staff photo by Stephen Hargis / Notre Dame players stand on the sideline after receiving their runner-up trophy Saturday at Tennessee Tech, where they lost to Goodpasture in the TSSAA Division II-A final at the BlueCross Basketball State Championships.
Staff photo by Stephen Hargis / Notre Dame players stand on the sideline after receiving their runner-up trophy Saturday at Tennessee Tech, where they lost to Goodpasture in the TSSAA Division II-A final at the BlueCross Basketball State Championships.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — After battling toe to toe for a little more than three quarters with one of Tennessee's perennial powers in boys' basketball, Notre Dame stumbled only briefly in the fourth quarter.

But that three-minute lapse was all it took for Goodpasture to take command in Saturday's BlueCross Basketball State Championships at Tennessee Tech and eventually pull away for a 59-48 win that secured its second TSSAA Division II-A title in the past three seasons.

“They have a lot of different ways they can beat you,” said Notre Dame coach Jonathan Adams, who guided the Fighting Irish to the first state title game appearance in program history. “It’s pick your poison because they have great guards and great post players. We did about the best job of guarding them that we could.

“And we gave ourselves a chance. We were tied at the half, down one going into the fourth, but then we just couldn’t sustain it.”

Shortly after the Fighting Irish (24-10) had taken a one-point lead in the first minute of the fourth, Goodpasture (33-2) answered with a 12-2 run and never led by less than seven points the rest of the way.

The Irish, after blistering the nets in the first half — they connected on 64.7% of their attempts from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range — missed their first eight shots in the fourth quarter, including 0-of-5 on 3-point attempts. Notre Dame didn’t make a field goal in the fourth until Wyatt Shope’s 3 with just three seconds remaining.

Goodpasture, which was making its third consecutive appearance in the title game, dominated the glass on both ends of the court, outrebounding Notre Dame 38-18, including 14-4 in offensive boards.

“They were way more physical than we were,” Adams said. “I thought our initial defense was great, but then they got a whole lot of second-chance points. There was one possession where we had cut it to one, but they got three offensive rebounds before they scored. I thought that was the difference in the game.”

Junior Cole McCormick, Notre Dame’s only true inside threat, injured his right knee at the end of the third quarter and was unable to return until around the four-minute mark of the fourth. In his absence, the Cougars were able to score four of their first five fourth-quarter field goals in the paint.

“My knee just locked up on me,” a dejected McCormick said after the game. “I came down and felt a sharp pain, and when I tried to get up and walk on it, it just wasn’t working.

“Now we know what it feels like to get here. We know what it takes, and it will take a lot of work to get back. It’s our job to step up and try to get back here again next year and not have this same feeling but to leave here with a win.”

Notre Dame, which had won 14 of its past 15 games entering Saturday, was led in scoring by senior D.J. Brown and sophomore Gaas Herman with 13 points each, while McCormick added 12.

Goodpasture’s Isaiah West, a Vanderbilt signee who was named MVP of the state tournament, finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while 6-foot-4 sophomore Jayden Jones led all scorers with 20 points and 6-6 senior Jack Carter added 14.

“We’re pretty small to begin with and then we lose our best player, which is not an excuse, but any time you lose your best player, you’re just not as good,” Adams said. “But I’m proud of our guys for fighting and Cole for trying to come back late. That shows about his heart, and I think all our guys sent a message that we’ll battle.

“It just shows what a special group this was.”

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.

Updated with more information at 8:20 p.m. on March 4, 2023.

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