Notre Dame blows out Kaplan to remain unbeaten

Teddy Menard started things with an alley-oop dunk on an assist from Nick Swacker on the opening tip and Notre Dame never looked back from there in their matchup with Kaplan Tuesday evening.
The dunk sparked a 19-7 run for the Pios, who cruised past the Pirates, 50-29, at A.B. Dore Memorial Gym.
“Teddy is a high-energy guy and I think everybody feeds off of that,” said Notre Dame coach Duke Daigle of Menard, who scored a game-high 17 points in the victory. “We ran a set off the tip to give to him and it worked out and that kind of set the tempo for the rest of the game.
“Teddy showed last year that he was a special player by shutting down some of the best players (defensively) around here and this year, he gets to showcase a little bit of his offense as well.”
Menard’s intensity was high the entire game, especially in the opening frame.
The junior guard scored the Pios’ first six points of the game and added a 3-pointer later in the opening frame to put Notre Dame on top 12-5. Zach Lamm dropped in a shot from long range and hit a driving layup to push the cushion to 19-7 at the end of the quarter.
Lamm picked up a steal and a layup to start the second quarter, sparking an 8-0 run.
Parker Faust, a freshman guard, dropped in a 3-pointer and he also scored five points in the second frame to help the Pios take a commanding 31-15 cushion into the break.
“I’ve always said that if you’re good enough to play as a freshman, you’re going to play and Faust is one of those guys,” said Daigle. “He understands everything that’s going on, he has a vision and awareness and his wits of the game is on a senior level.”
Faust and Lamm each added another 3-pointer in the third quarter and freshman Jackson Casanova scored on a putback to help increase the hosts lead to 22 (44-22).
In the final frame, the Pios shuffled in the reserves, playing numerous underclassmen throughout the period.
“We had all freshmen in the game at one point tonight,” said Daigle. “This is our largest freshman class (15) and it’s not just bodies, it’s some really good players.”
Menard’s 17-point outburst led all scorers on the night. He also added six rebounds and six steals.
Lamm followed with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and had two assists and two steals and Faust added 10 points and four assists.
Swacker scored three points and had six rebounds and six assists.
“Swacker is always going to be a facilitator,” said Daigle. “He doesn’t need to score 20 a night. He has shown he can score, but when you look at the stat sheet, he’s got six to eight rebounds and six or so assists. He’s a stat stuffer and he’s a leader.
“Swack has been playing for me since he was a freshman and there’s nobody on the floor that I trust more than him.”
Casanova added three points, eight rebounds and one block. Layton Faul and Grady Faulk rounded out the offense with two points each.
The Pios will play their third game of the week on Friday when they entertain Pine Prairie at 6 p.m.
“We challenge the kids every day and we’ve gotten better since day one,” said Daigle. “I know this is a lot of coaches talk, but our goal is to get a little better each day and that showed tonight.
“I know we lost a lot from last year, but I like my team.”