‘Ring or bust’ for Notre Dame as Irish roll into postseason

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Notre Dame is hoping to turn the corner in 2017 as the Irish have been dealt heart-breaking quarterfinal losses in both of the last two boys basketball state tournaments.

The Irish fell two years ago to 2015 state champion Magnolia after leading by 13 points with under four minutes to go. And then last year, Notre Dame again fell to the eventual Class A champion, Huntington St. Joe, losing an eight-point fourth quarter lead.

“That Magnolia game? You can’t write a book on all of the things that had to happen for them to win that game,” said Notre Dame coach Jarrod West. “Last year against St. Joe, being up eight? We had a few turnovers and a few slips – and that’s basketball. But we’re hoping the basketball gods will shine on us a little bit. We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and continue to try and get better.”

West, though, saw that same problem appear early this year as the Irish were unable to finish in several big early season games. Against a brutal schedule, Notre Dame put together just a 4-4 start.

It didn’t take long for the Irish to pick up momentum again, however, as Notre Dame (15-5) entered this week having won 11 of 12, including a 74-67 win over Class AAA contender Parkersburg.

“We have been finishing a lot better,” West said. “At Wheeling Central we were up by 17 in the second half and lost, at Bishop Donahue we were up 18 in the second half and lost, at Parkersburg Catholic we were up 10 in the second half and lost, and then home against Wheeling Central we were up six and lost.

“Give credit to those teams, they shot the ball well, but we also had some self-inflicting turnovers,” West said. “We’ve turned the page and we’re excited about where we are. The injury bug has hurt us, but we’re excited for the final stretch.”

It’s no secret that West’s son, Jarrod, a Marshall signee, is again the leader of this Notre Dame team. But this year’s group appears to have more depth and scoring options than Irish teams of the recent past.

“Noah Bohanna is a senior and has started since he was a sophomore,” West said. “Jaret Mullooly has been there since he was a sophomore, Gabe Zummo is a sophomore. Our center (6-foot-7) Todd Griffith is a junior this year and had a torn MCL from earlier this year – but we’re hoping to get him back. We have a lot of experienced players who have been to the state tournament the last two years.”

West says those players have helped take some of the weight off of West, Jr.’s shoulders.

“We have different dynamics to this year’s team,” West said. “The last two years, (West, Jr.) has had to score 30 points just about every night for us to win. Our personnel is a lot better this year and we have some better shooters, with a lot of depth and versatility.

West, Jr. scored 36 points for the Irish in that win over Parkersburg earlier this month. That Parkersburg game has been part of a rigorous schedule that will likely include several teams who will appear in the state tournament next month.

“The only reason I’m doing this is to win a state championship,” West said. “Nobody can put more pressure on us than myself and these kids. The last few years have been ring or bust – we’re playing to win a state championship. Our schedule will have us battle tested.”

The Irish this year are in sectional play with title contender Gilmer County, along with Clay-Battelle, Doddridge County, South Harrison, Trinity and Tygarts Valley. The opposing section features Pendleton County, Tucker County, East Hardy, Harman, Moorefield, Paw Paw, Union and the WV School for the Deaf.