GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The chase to win the Fox River Classic Conference boys basketball crown is down to three teams and Tuesday night two of the contenders met as Notre Dame hosted Ashwaubenon.
The Tritons won the season's first meeting on a buzzer-beater but this time late-game heroics were not needed.
The Jaguars, ranked No. 2 in the FOX 11 Top 11, opened a 13-point lead in the second half and made it stand as they beat Notre Dame 75-65, winning their 11th straight game.
"It's just another win for us, we're on a roll now," senior Marcus Tomashek said. "It's just another win to keep us in the lead in the conference. That's our goal."
"Obviously, if you want to keep yourself in the conference race you're going to have to win as many games as possible," coach Mark Tomashek said. "They beat us at our place and we really wanted to come out and playa a good game, and for the most part we did. We competed. We didn't give up, we fight and I am really proud of the effort."
After a tight start, Ashwaubenon (13-1) opened a 33-22 halftime lead. Notre Dame (11-4) then whittled into the lead and trailed 50-49, but Ashwaubenon responded.
Tomashek came down and buried a 3-pointer and after a Notre Dame miss, Drew Tomashek matched his brother's bomb with one of his own. All of a sudden, it was 56-49.
"Basketball's a game of runs," Marcus Tomashek said. "They went on their run, but we kept the lead and we ended up winning the game."
Marcus Tomashek led all scorers with 26 points, while backcourt mate Matt Imig added 23. The seniors played big, which is needed in games like this.
"Matt being a four-year varsity player and I guess Marcus being one, too, those guys have to do that, right?" Mark Tomashek said. "If you want to win big games, you're horses are going to have to show up and play and I thought both of them did."
Marcus Tomashek did admit there was a little fire in his team after losing the first time to the Tritons.
"We had it in the back of our mind that they beat us last time," he said. "We knew the taste of when they celebrated, how we lost that game, we knew we needed to win this one."
And Mark Tomashek said Tuesday's win was a great experience, as the game had a playoff-like atmosphere.
"You really grow from it, you test your mettle, your resolve, your toughness," he said. "I think this is a huge, huge accomplishment for us."
3-POINTERS
- Keegan King led Notre Dame with 22 points, while Chris Mitchell added 18 and Emmet Lawton added 16.
- Ashwaubenon and De Pere lead the FRCC with 9-1 records, while Notre Dame is 7-2.
- Notre Dame had won 11 of 12 before Tuesday's loss.
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