West scores 28, lifts Notre Dame over Tucker County in OT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Jarrod West Jr. and Cal Cistaro scored all 11 points for No. 2 Notre Dame in overtime as the Irish beat familiar foe Tucker County 63-57 in the Class A quarterfinals.

“Typical Notre Dame-Tucker County game. It’s kind of like the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry—we know them and they know us, and it’s physical,” Notre Dame coach Jarrod West said. “It was a war and I knew it was going to be tough.”

The teams met three times  the regular season—all single-digit contests—with Notre Dame winning two of three.

The freshman West, the son of coach Jarrod West , finished with a game-high 28 points, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range. West had heard horror stories of teams not shooting well here, but wasn’t phased.

“I heard about that but I just kind of let that go,” West said. “You just have to take your shot with confidence.”

Cistaro finished with a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

“(In the first half) I was settling for jumpers and trying to get my teammates involved,” Cistaro said. “In the second half I took the ball to the hole.”

Both teams missed chances at the end of regulation. With 30 seconds left Cistaro drove done the lane for a layup that rimmed out. Noah Bohanna had a chance that tipped off as well and the Mountain Lions came down with the rebound.

Seventh-seeded(17-7) Tucker held the ball for a last-second shot and put it in the hands of Ian Nichols, whose mid-range jumper rimmed out before Mitchell Mason’s tip-in try rolled off.

“It was a good shot, it just didn’t go,” Nichols said. “It was the one we wanted and we had a put back, couldn’t ask for a better look.”

The Mountain Lions were paced by Nichols’ 17 points, while Derek Zirk chipped in 13 on 4-of-7 shooting. Mason ended the night with 10 points.

“Notre Dame didn’t show us anything different. They’re up in your face and quick with the ball,” Nichols said. “We worked on some things, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Tucker led the battle of the boards by three 39-36, that led to 20 second chance points.

“That was the fourth time we played them and we had a chance to win every time,” Tucker County coach Tom Gutshall said.

Gutshall announced after the game that after 31 seasons he’s retiring from Tucker County. He led the Mountain Lions to 20 state tournaments, including 13 straight.

“I told my team after the game that I appreciate all they’ve done and thanked them for everything,” Gutshall said.

Notre Dame will get a rematch in the Class A semifinals against Charleston Catholic on Friday at 11:15 a.m.





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