Mooney, Notre Dame subdue Prospect
When Notre Dame basketball coach Tom Les played for the Dons, he was known as a hard-nosed defensive player. To this day, he still preaches defense and is quick to take a player to task - even when it's a top offensive player.
The Dons had just watched a 32-22 lead shrink to 32-30 in a 1:30 span as Prospect guard Frankie Mack scored 8 straight of his 10 points in that run.
Les called time out with :59 left in the quarter and made sure Joe Mooney got the message.
Mooney responded after the time out with a steal and basket to put the 9-1 Dons back on track.
Mooney scored 36 points as Notre Dame got past stubborn Prospect 49-42 at Wheeling's 37th annual Hardwood Classic.
Notre Dame moves into Friday's semifinal against Naperville Central, while Prospect goes to the winner's consolation bracket against Deerfield.
"I got beat on several plays on defense," said Mooney. "After the time out I got the steal and scored. That got me my confidence back."
Les agreed.
"When I got on him about those lapses he knew he had to make amends," said Les. "He came up with some steals and rebounds. Joe is really a good player. He's good in games because that's they way he practices. He's such a good shooter."
Indeed. Mooney hit 9-for-15 from 2-point range, 5-for-7 from 3-point range and was 3-for-3 at the free throw line. He also had 4 rebounds, 4 steals and a blocked shot.
"I come out ready to go in every game," said Mooney. "I have the same mindset. Some games I shoot better than others. I use the other team's defense to get the others involved. The closer they play me the better I can find other players open. I was able to take advantage of some good screens that I got from the others and made my shots."
Prospect (6-5) stayed close behind Kyle Beyak's 19 points in closing the gap to 38-34 with 5:16 left in the game.
Mooney though, hit a 3-pointer and Ammar Becar scored for a 43-34 lead. Kyle Formanski then scored his only basket to cut the lead to 43-36 with 3:22 left in the game.
Mooney responded with a basket and 2 free throws to lead 47-36 with :36 left.
"He's one of the best players we've played against all year," said Prospect coach John Camardella of Mooney. "He can shoot everything from anywhere on the floor. We have to learn to play better against teams that give us high ball pressure. It was a great effort by us but we got beat by a better team."