ATHENS — Facing a halftime deficit without their starting point Landon Barbarits, the No. 6 seed Notre Dame Titans rallied back and gave the No. 2 seed Federal Hocking all they could handle in a Division IV district final on Thursday at the Convocation Center.

With the game tied heading into the fourth quarter, however, it was the Lancers of Fed Hock who won the period 18-10 — earning a 64-56 victory to secure the program’s first district championship since 1970.

“That was great to see. We knew our kids are resilient and hard working,” Notre Dame coach Matt Mader said, of his team’s fight. “They knew what it was going to take after our starting point guard Landon going out early. Connie Thomas being a freshman handling the ball, thought he did a great job for a lot of the game. Just the fight from our kids and the execution.”

As part of his game-high 25 points, Federal Hocking guard Tariq Cottrill went 11-of-14 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter helping keep Notre Dame at bay.

14 of Fed Hock’s 18 fourth quarter points came in the fourth quarter after the game was tied entering the final eight minutes.

Mader gave credit to the Lancers and Cottrill who was named the OPSWA Division IV Southeast District co-player of the year last week.

“Give those guys credit, they continue to put the pressure on you. At the end we had to come out of our zone, had to foul and fouled the wrong guy,” Mader said. “He’s a great free throw shooter and that’s why he’s district player of the year.”

In Barbarits’ place, sophomore Myles Phillips and Aaryn Bradford and freshman Connie Thomas gave the Titans valuable minutes on both ends of the court.

Phillips scored 10 points off the bench on four field goals and two-of-three free throws, while Bradford and Thomas scored six and four points, respectively.

“They’re tough, gritty and scrappers,” Mader said, of his guards. “You know exactly what you’re going to get from Myles. He’s such a huge spark offensively, defensively he’s scrappy. Myles did a great job as usual and he stepped up in more of a ball handling role. Thought Aaryn Bradford played well for us, handled the ball and attacked really well.”

Notre Dame was led by senior Dominic Sparks who finished with a team-high 18 points. Sparks led all scorers with 14 first half points.

Senior Carter Campbell and junior Cody Metzler each finished with nine points for the Titans.

“We knew we had to be physical and get on the glass,” Mader said. “Dominic Sparks has continued to get better year after year and I still think he has a huge ceiling if he decides to play college basketball. Carter Campbell with the game he had on Monday against South Webster and he follows it up tonight, he’s everywhere on the court. Plays with such tenacity. Cody the guy who can put the ball on the floor and in the hole.”

Mader praised his seniors Sparks, Campbell, Braeden Patmore and Reed Lasswell, all of which who played in their final game, for their contributions to the ND program as four-year players.

“They’re all national honor society students, get it done on the classroom and on the court or on the field. Four guys who are four-year seniors in our program. Those are the kind of kids who we’re trying to build our program off of and their leadership has been outstanding all year.”

Federal Hocking advances to the Division IV, Region 15 tournament to face the East District champion Berlin Hiland on Tuesday, March 7th at the Convocation Center.

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BOX SCORE

Notre Dame 14 14 18 10 — 56

Federal Hocking 13 20 13 18 — 64

Notre Dame (19-6): Landon Barbarits 0 0-0 0, Connie Thomas 1 1-2 4, Aaryn Bradford 2 2-5 6, Eugene Collins 0 0-0 0, Cody Metzler 4 0-1 9, Baeden Patmore 0 0-0 0, Carter Campbell 4 1-2 9, Myles Phillips 4 2-3 10, Reed Lasswell 0 0-0 0, Dominic Sparks 9 0-1 18; TOTALS: 14 6-14 56; Three-point field goals: 2 (Connie Thomas, Cody Metzler 1 apiece)

Federal Hocking (22-3): Billy Ward 1 0-0 2, Tariq Cottrill 5 12-15 25, Caden Chapman 4 1-2 9, Evan McPherson 0 0-0 0, Cam Joy 0 0-0 0, Iden Miller 4 2-3 10, Mosiah Cottrill 0 0-0 0, Scotty Balch 4 0-0 10, Andrew Airhart 3 0-0 8; TOTALS: 21 15-20 64; Three-point field goals: 7 (Tariq Cottrill 3, Scotty Balch, Andrew Airhart 2 apiece)

Reach Jacob Smith at (740) 370-0713 ext. 1930, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @JacobSmithPDT © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved