The Lyndonville Tigers held down a team that four times this season scored more than 90 points, and twice in the past four games going over 100, to just 58 points on a night that team really wanted a win.
The Fighting Irish wanted the win for their Head Coach Mike Rapone, who in his 40th season was on the cusp of his 700th career win.
Lyndonville is a good team, Rapone said after the game, but part of the problem was "the pressure of trying to win the 700th win," he said. "Other people did."
Victory looked far from certain through the first three-quarters of the contest. Notre Dame took their first lead of the night with about 20 seconds left in the first half and then quickly lost it, so they went into the locker room down 19-18.
Instead of coming out fired up, the team still seemed tentative for most of the third quarter and trailed heading into the fourth 40-29.
Then Mark Sanders got hot, hitting a trio of three-point baskets to help spark a comeback.
He finished the night with 14 points. Gabe Macdonald socred 12 and Cody Henry scored nine.
For Lyndonville, Nathan Dallenbeck scored 21 points and Nathan Dydorle, who also had several blocked shots and steals, scored 16 points.
"I'm proud of the accomplishment, but know it couldn't have happened without all the great young men I have been fortunate enough to coach at Notre Dame," Rapone said.
