Notre Dame Crowds Out Archrival Crespi, 70-57

SHERMAN OAKS —  They came by the hundreds, filling up every seat in the Notre Dame High gymnasium Friday night, with dozens left outside because of the overflow crowd.

The Crespi-Notre Dame basketball rivalry returned in a big way.

Monte Marcaccini, who led Notre Dame to its only Southern Section championship in 1993, dropped in on vacation from playing professionally in Italy.

Chris Nikchevich, the greatest guard in Crespi history from the 1980s, had a courtside seat.

The electric atmosphere provided inspiration for both teams, but in the end, Notre Dame’s role players came through in support of Cody Pearson and Michael Luderer to deliver a 70-57 victory for the Knights and give them sole possession of first place in the Mission League.

“It was awesome,” Luderer said. “This is what you play high school basketball for.”

Pearson scored 27 points and Luderer had 23 for Notre Dame (16-2, 4-0 in league play), which overwhelmed Crespi (13-4, 3-1) on the boards.

Crespi trailed by 11 points at halftime and came out with a box-and-one defense in a bid to contain Luderer, who made four three-pointers in the second quarter and had 20 points by halftime.

The strategy worked in holding Luderer scoreless for the quarter, but it backfired by allowing David Hungerford and Stepney Johnson of Notre Dame to score on offensive rebounds.

Hungerford, one of those critical role players, had 12 rebounds and six points. Another key player for the Knights was junior Josh Smith, a defensive specialist who came off the bench to pressure Andrew Moore. Moore finished with 24 points, but he struggled when Smith was on the court.

“They just tell me to go out and guard the top scorer,” Smith said. “I go full bore and just love it. Moore is a great shooter. You give him an inch and he makes the shot. You can’t lose sight of him.”

With Moore neutralized, Crespi’s other players couldn’t adjust. Kingsley Anyanwu kept forcing shots and missing. Charlie Shiebler, averaging 10 points, didn’t score until the fourth quarter.

“We tried to steal one on the road, but by no means are we done,” Moore said. “They have to come to Crespi.”

Coach Rob DiMuro of Notre Dame isn’t worried about challenges. His senior-dominated team has been preparing four years for this chance to go after the Mission championship.

“It was awesome,” he said of Friday’s environment. “I haven’t seen this in 10 years. It’s huge. We finally get to bring the community out behind both programs.”