Prospect rallies to down Notre Dame in OT

Prospect played like its pants were on fire.

The Knights' boys basketball team rallied from a 9-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter to earn a 51-49 overtime victory over Notre Dame Wednesday in the opening round of the 41st Wheeling Hardwood Classic.

"It was stops into scores," Prospect coach John Camardella said. "I was so proud of the guys for hanging in and hanging In. It was never doubting. It was always looking at the situation."

Prospect (7-5) played fearlessly through the final quarter and overtime. And no one was as fearless as Jack Schneider, who stepped up to drill a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in overtime to put the Knights up for good with a 50-49 lead.

"My teammates put me in a good position," said Schneider, who would finish with 5 points. "It is the same as practice every day, just rhythm shot."

Ben Zellmer, who scored 5 of his 9 points in overtime including a free throw with 6.1 seconds remaining to make it 51-49, said the Knights were able to pull together down the stretch.

"We play our best when we are all contributing," Zellmer said. "We didn't have our shots falling in the first half. Our coaches always tell us that when that happens, to rely on our defense to keep us in the game."

The Knights appeared to have been burned out and trailed 35-26 heading into the final quarter of regulation.

Led by Jon Kreidler, who returned to the Knights' lineup last Friday from an injury, Prospect mounted a fierce rally.

Prospect, which had struggled to get to the rack, scored 9 unanswered points to tie the game at 35-35 with 5:10 to play. Kreidler, who would finish with 18 points, would score the last 7 points of the run.

Ben Miller (11 points) sank a free throw with 26.2 second left in regulation to tie the game at 40,

The Knights then were able to turn away Notre Dame (7-6) at the end of regulation to force overtime.

Prospect will meet top-seeded Glenbrook South in Thursday's quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m.