Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
COLUMBUS — Notre Dame can officially say it has made history this winter.
The Titans penned it with a resounding 45-31 win over Steubenville Catholic Central on Thursday in a Division VII regional semifinal at Ohio Dominican University.
Forcing 20 turnovers and using a late quarter scoring run to pull away, ND sealed a win that marks the program’s first-ever trip to the Elite 8.
The Titans (20-5) started with every ounce of momentum, forcing four turnovers early while Landon Barbarits and Myles Phillips scored to take a 5-0 lead.
Brady Davis later connected on two free throws, and Barbarits splashed in a triple to put ND ahead 10-2 after the first.
And it was off to the races from there.
The early wave of momentum only continued to grow as Barbarits and Aaryn Bradford spearheaded a 6-0 run to open the second, extending the lead to 16-2.
SCC did what it could to slice into the deficit, but at halftime, the Titans owned an 18-6 edge.
The Crusaders (22-4) built a little momentum in the second half as Timmy Mihaylo buried a triple to cut the deficit to 19-11. But Phillips responded on the other end with a deep shot, pushing the score to 22-11.
Still, SCC continued to fight and got buckets from Tommy Pergi and Andrew Rodhe to trim ND’s lead to 22-15 heading to the fourth.
Rodhe then scored two more buckets to cap an 8-0 run, bringing the Crusaders to within 22-19.
However, that was the closest they got.
Barbarits and Zion Boerger responded with back-to-back 3-point plays. That was followed by buckets from Phillips and Brady Davis to charge a 10-2 run, extending the lead back into double-digits at 32-21 and allowing ND to cruise the rest of the way to victory.
Barbarits finished with a game-high 18 points and three assists. Phillips added 10 points alongside six points for Davis.
Notre Dame will return to action at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Ohio University. The Titans will face off with fellow Scioto County rival South Webster, who beat Patriot Prep to advance.
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