Notre Dame Prep shifted to the 4A Conference from the 5A level in 2020 for a couple of seasons but a jump back to the 5A Conference in 2022 gave the program a boost which ultimately led to a No. 1 ranking in 5A and an Open Division semifinal finish under former head coach Luke DallaRiva. The departure of DallaRiva after the season led to the hiring of Brad Quinet in June and the Saints are right back on top with a 13-1 record in power-ranking games and a No. 6 ranking in the Open Division with four games left in the regular season after the Saints beat 4A power Salpointe 63-53 on the road Saturday night.

The victory over the Lancers was a difficult one despite the final score with Salpointe battling back several times beginning with a 15-6 deficit erased in the first quarter by an 8-0 run by the Lancers to cut the Notre Dame lead down to 15-14. Hayden Stebbins hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Saints a 28-20 lead with 4:08 left in the half, only to see the Lancers cut the lead down to 30-28 at the break.

(Bryce Quinet scored a game-high 27 points at Salpointe. Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

Salpointe took a 36-35 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter but the Saints went up 46-38 which set off another Lancer run to cut the Notre Dame lead down to 53-51 with 3:47 left in the game thanks to five straight points from junior Omar Rasul. With the game in the balance, senior Bryce Quinet scored 12 of his game high 27 points in the last four minutes of the game to help proved the final 63-53 separation, although the Lancers missed on several attempts to keep the game close down 57-53 with 2:30 left.

Bryce, an Evansville commit, and the son of Brad Quinet, also picked up a couple of steals down the stretch and he brought the ball up the court to help keep the Lancers at bay. Stebbins finished with 14 points, Ethan Sobik added 11 and Will Feagles scored nine. For Salpointe, Rasul scored 25 and Joey Castillo added 11.

Salpointe (9-5) came in ranked No. 5 in the 4A Conference under Eric Castillo and the program made it to the state championship game in 2022. The Lancers have three games left in the regular season starting with a trip to Ironwood Ridge (8-6) on Tuesday and Notre Dame will host AZ College Prep (3-11) on the same night.

The first round of the Open Division is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Salpointe junior Omar Rasul. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)