The Elba and Notre Dame early-season matchup at Elba was everything you expect an Elba vs. Notre Dame game to be: raucous crowd, and a battle to the end between two talented teams.
This time, the Lancers came out on top 52-48, but it wasn't easy.
The Fighting Irish built up a 10-point lead, thanks to some hot shooting from Lucas Calarco and Spencer Masiti, and led 33 to 27 at the break but Elba kept the pressure on throughout the second half and seemed to wear Notre Dame down by the fourth quarter.
"We shot the ball pretty well," said Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Rapone. "Our biggest thing tonight is we didn’t execute the last four minutes. We took some bad shots. We made some bad turnovers and made a few defensive mistakes. When you’re doing that on the road, you’re not going to come out on top against a good team."
The Lancers were led by Jon Boyce, who scored 28 points and snagged 19 rebounds.
"John's one of the best players in Class D basketball," said his Coach Ciaci Zambito "The way he worked, the way he's gotten himself into shape and just his dedication, he deserves a game like tonight. He went out on his last home game against Notre Dame and I think he made a statement for himself. I'm super proud of him."
With Elba down two key players, Colton Dillon and Gregory Huntington, Boyce said he knew his role on the team but that didn't put any pressure on him.
"It sometimes feels like it's on me but then again it's not on me because I look at our team, I look at who is out there, who's out there playing with me," Boyce said. "Everyone knows their roles. We all have our own strengths."
This game, freshman Zack Marshall stepped up and contributed 11 points, hitting three three-point shots in the second half to help give Elba the boost it needed to mount a comeback.
For Notre Dame, Gabe Macdonald scored 15 points. Misiti and Calarco each scored nine points.
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