No. 2 Eagles hold own behind Ward’s big night, but No. 3 Irish explode in 2nd half, turn tide in 3rd quarter to stroll towards Class D1 Finals berth with 81-58 win

WARSAW — There have been countless memories over the course of basketball time that Fillmore and Notre Dame-Batavia have shared. Most of which came during the Jamie Mullen era, when the atmosphere was like no other. He described some of their victorious meetings with the Irish in the past as a “Chevy Malibu beating a Ferrari.”

Some of the notable performances: Then sophomore Chase Rangel dealing an incredible 17-point performance in the fourth quarter and overtime combined to defeat Notre Dame-Batavia, 49-43 in the Finals to claim their second Section V Championship at Blue Cross Arena in the 2009-10 season.

The following year, an epic 62-48 comeback victory in York during the Semifinal round during Matt Dean’s senior season, finishing off a 12-point rally from behind to advance into the Finals back during the 2010-11 season, where their quest to repeat fell short against eventual champion C.G. Finney.

The last time the two foes would meet in the Semifinal round or further beyond during their Sectional quest was Mullen’s final season as coach during the 2013-14 season in the D1 Semifinal round in a game that the Irish would claim to end the Eagles season. Fast forward nearly 10 years later with new guidance leading the respective programs, the rivalry was re-ignited with a trip to Blue Cross Arena on the line, Tuesday night in Warsaw.

The atmosphere surrounding the hardwood for their Semifinal clash was just like it was back then — loud and supercharged.

Across the first half, the decibel level would continue to increase more and more over time in a fiercely competitive battle up and down the floor. Each team would have their moment in the sun after a series of high octane runs, with Notre Dame-Batavia claiming a six-point lead to control over the Eagles. But then, a tide-turning shift in momentum settled in.

In the second half, it was The Luck of the Irish.

After closing out the first half with a massive scoreless run of Fillmore, they would maintain all momentum to close the game out, capitalizing on everything they captured off the Eagles from second chance opportunities to multiple turnovers in their defensive zone which would lead to a strong third quarter finish that ultimately sealed their fate — a return trip to the Finals, this time back up in Class D1, as they strolled past the Eagles with an 81-58 victory.

“The momentum shifted right in the second quarter, we were up seven and there was a string of calls that went against us. But it is what it is, and it landed us in foul trouble,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “They hadn't stopped Mitchell (Ward) from getting to the basket, and when he got two fouls, I had to sit him down. Jair (Bialek) picked up his second, Brent (Zubikowski) picked up his second, I had to take both of them out. I thought we were going to go up by 11 or 13 before halftime after figuring it out, then the fouls happened and it shifted the momentum to them. That's basketball, that will happen.”

Through the beginning stages of the battle, both Notre Dame-Batavia and Fillmore (16-6) were right with one another, with the Eagles navigating their way towards a 12-12 tie with three minutes left behind Mitch Ward and Jair Bialek’s back-to-back set of and-ones. Through another even exchange of baskets to close out the quarter, the Irish would work their way back out front with a lead as big as six, which would come down to a pair after Jair Bialek continued his rhythm with a trey downtown.

In the same swing, the Irish would take away all the momentum that the Eagles were attempting to build from outside, forcing them inside alternatively with Ward leading that department with a pair of runs to the hoop, coupling them with a second quarter-starting and-one from the charity stripe to tie the game at 30.

The lead for the Eagles would grow to as much as six led by Ward once more, but Notre Dame-Batavia fought back with a big swing to close out the half. Led by Ryan Fitzpatrick and his triple, and and-one on back-to-back possessions, the Irish would go on to head into the locker room after seizing all of the momentum in their 12-0 run after a 37-31 deficit.

To try and deter the momentum back in their favor, Bialek would assist Fillmore in cutting the early third quarter deficit back down to three behind his third and final trey from downtown. A short time later, the Irish were given another shot in the arm after a crucial goaltend called against Luke Colombo on a breakaway attempt by Fitzpatrick off a turnover at mid-court.

While the Eagles continued to look to Ward inside to keep pace, the lead for the Irish would keep blossoming to as much as 15 at the end of the frame, after the defending champions finished a 9-0 run with a wide open, buzzer-beating lay-in by Fitzpatrick.

“Second half, we didn't come out and seize any momentum early,” Crouch said. “When we finally did get going, that goaltending call was at a critical moment. It would have cut it down to three to possibly shift the momentum back to us, and from there, we deflated a little bit and it took the wind out of our sails. They did a great job on Zach (Sisson), they pushed up into him, got physical and made it tough for him to get open looks. The two things that killed our chance at a comeback were giving up too many offensive rebounds, and our help defense was non-existent. That falls on me.”

The scoreless run that Notre Dame-Batavia established towards the beginning of the third quarter would carry into the last eight minutes, when it reached even higher levels to help them pull even farther ahead, taking the attack to the inside to record a run that saw them score 17 straight points before a Ward basket ended the drought. On top of the buzzer-beating shot in the previous frame, the big finish the Irish built would help the team insurmountably pull away for good to secure their return trip to the Finals this weekend in Rochester.

After the game, Crouch talked with his team and showed admiration for the way his team was able to fight all season long through a 5-4 start. As a result, the Eagles went on to play some of their best basketball of the season by scoring wins in 11 of the next 12 games leading up to the Semifinal clash with the Irish, with their lone loss being to Class C power Geneseo back at the beginning of February.

“It's disappointing, and we would love to be playing for a Sectional title on Saturday, and I hope to get that opportunity at some point, but I told the guys in the locker room that it's been a privilege to coach them. The hardest part is knowing that this was the last time I got to coach them,” he said. “It hasn't been the easiest season per say, but if you look back, we were 5-4 and reeling. Then, they kind of broke through. We figured out that Mitchell driving to the basket is great to get Zach and Jair set up, and vice versa. Once they got a glimpse of that, especially against a tough Geneseo team we went toe-to-toe with, the light went off. This was our first loss since then.”

Ward’s inside game would pace the Fillmore offense from start to finish, scoring a game-high 27 points. Following behind was Bialek, who chipped in with 15 points himself, while Zach Sisson was held to just nine points by the Irish defense.

The season is over for the Eagles, as they put a wrap on a season that saw them go 16-6 overall. The team will graduate five seniors that have provided incredible contributions that served as a driving force behind all the team’s recent success past and present, in Ward, Bialek, Brent Zubikowski, Luke Colombo and Ray Muzaid-Omar.

Crouch said that the one thing he won’t take for granted from his stellar group of senior leaders, is their competitive will to win. One that at times he admits, became their own worst enemy.

“There were times where we were too locked into competitive battles instead of relaxing, and doing what the team needed us to do. But that's what I will remember. The leadership, comradery, even when these guys were not syncing on the court, they still synced off of it,” he reflected. “We had dinner at my house a couple of times, came in and had a great time interacting. Those are the things you remember. I'm going to miss these guys, and I will miss telling them my awkward stories about motivating them. I will miss the interaction, and I will miss the chances I've had to see them grow into young men and become successful. I'm really thankful to have the chance to coach them.”

As for what their future holds? The Fillmore mastermind will have a strong core making the move up from the JV level to mix in with a solid core of returners, including Sisson, Eben Schilke, Jack Cool and Layton Sanasith to name a few, after the team booked a fine 16-3 season themselves.

“There's a bright future ahead of us,” he said. “Our JV program went 16-3 this year and there's quite a few young men that will be ready to come up and contribute next year. It will be a bit of a trial to get the pieces to fit together, but the one thing I'm excited to see is the guys that come back, who have had role models to follow, they know what the expectations are.”

Notre Dame-Batavia 24 19 18 20 – 81

Fillmore 22 15 9 12 – 58

NOTRE DAME-BATAVIA: Jordan Welker 5 3-3 13, Ryan Fitzpatrick 7 3-3 18, Jay Antinore 5 2-2 12, Hayden Groff 1 1-1 3, Bryce Berry 1 0-0 2, Jimmy Fanara 6 2-3 14, Jaden Sherwood 6 3-7 17, George Woodruff 1 0-0 2. Totals: 32 14-19 81.

FILLMORE: Brent Zubikowski 2 0-0 4, Jair Bialek 4 5-5 15, Luke Colombo 0 0-2 0, Mitch Ward 12 2-7 27, Zach Sisson 3 3-3 9, Layton Sanasith 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 10-17 58.

3-point goals: ND-B 3 (Sherwood 2, Fitzpatrick), Fillmore 4 (Bialek 2, Ward, Sanasith).
Total Fouls: ND-B 16, Fillmore 19. Fouled out: Berry (ND-B), Fanara (ND-B), Zubikowski (FIL).