By Greg Bates
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – Since suffering two losses to start the season, the Notre Dame Academy boys’ basketball team has been on a roll.
It entered a nonconference game against a solid Beaver Dam squad Dec. 28 with five straight wins.
Early on, it was apparent the Tritons wanted to extend that streak.
Notre Dame did just about everything right in the first 11 1/2 minutes to build a 25-5 lead.
Beaver Dam got within five points late in the second half, but the Tritons quickly shut down any chance by the visitors in a 67-53 victory.
“We haven’t played our best basketball,” Notre Dame senior guard Daniel Hornacek said. “We let them back into it, which we shouldn’t have done, but we did enough to get the win, and that’s good.”
The Tritons’ six-game winning streak matches the longest mark for the program since the 2016-17 season.
Notre Dame was able to build its big lead in large part because of its defense.
It forced 10 first-half turnovers from Beaver Dam, which averages nine for an entire game.
The Tritons also eliminated Golden Beavers’ leading scorer Tyler Bunkoske for much of the opening half.
The senior guard came in averaging 19.9 points per game and didn’t score until the 4:16 mark.
“We guarded with intensity,” Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Bobinski said. “We took them out of some of the things they wanted to do, and it took their personnel out of what they’re comfortable with, which is a key for us. If we can continue to guard, we have the opportunities to play with and beat anybody on our schedule. That was good to see.”
The Tritons (6-2) got seven of their first nine points from Hornacek, as they went up 9-0.
Back-to-back layups by Luke Warden and Henry Weber put Notre Dame up 25-5 with 6:15 remaining in the first half.
Beaver Dam (7-3) went on a little run, but the Tritons led 35-20 at halftime.
“They beat us in the first six minutes,” Beaver Dam Head Coach Tim Ladron said. “They got out to a huge lead, and we struggled from the top. It was a physical game, and we didn’t respond well early.”
Chris Mitchell — Notre Dame’s second-leading scorer entering the game at 13.4 points per game — didn’t attempt a shot in the first half.
Remarkably, the Tritons were still up by 15 points, shooting 14-for-22 from the field.
“He affected the game in a lot of other ways except scoring,” Hornacek said of Mitchell. “He passes the ball, plays good defense and does a lot of the things we need him to do. Even though he didn’t score, he did everything else we needed him to do.”
Bobinski said he’s talked to his team about the importance of being balanced on the offensive end, and his players showed that in this game.
“We’ve had four different guys score points already this year and five guys get double figures,” he said. “I’ve told them what can make a great team because it doesn’t always have to be the same guys every night. It makes us hard to guard and prepare for. I’m pleased about that. I’m grateful our guys are unselfish enough.”
Keegan King hit a shot early in the second half to give Notre Dame its biggest lead of the night, 42-21, but Beaver Dam wasn’t ready to surrender.
A 14-1 run by the Golden Beavers cut the advantage to 49-44 with 6:02 remaining.
The Tritons answered with a 13-4 run, as Ethan Wall-Atim and King both converted consecutive three-point plays off offensive rebounds to seal the win.
“They made a little run, and then we challenged them to get back to how we started the game,” Bobinski said. “They did a good job of doing that to finish it off. That was a good sign. We would ideally not like to be in that situation where we let the lead get down to five, but they handled it well from that point on.”
Late in the game, Notre Dame starter Emmett Lawton departed with an injury, and his status was unknown following the game.
The Tritons outrebounded Beaver Dam 34-19 and pulled down 10 offensive boards.
“We’re blessed with multiple guys with size who can score, rebound and defend in a lot of different places on the court,” Bobinski said. “It’s great to have that flexibility. In a game like this, it was to our advantage.”
Hornacek, Lawton and King all scored 10 points to lead the way for Notre Dame, while Mitchell, Wall-Atim and Weber each added nine points.
Bunkoske, who was locked down in the opening half, finished with a game-high 17 points for Beaver Dam.
The Tritons now dive into the heart of their Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) schedule.
Notre Dame, already 2-0 in the conference, will travel to Pulaski Jan. 4 and then host Bay Port Jan. 7 and undefeated De Pere Jan. 11.
Hornacek said he’s hoping his team’s tough nonconference schedule prepared them for the grind of the FRCC.
“We played some good teams, and that’s going to build character as we move forward and into conference play,” he said.