A packed house, positioning for the district tournament and a pair of buzzer-beaters helped create a postseason atmosphere at Notre Dame for a District 7-AA basketball doubleheader Friday night against Signal Mountain.
Meme Siler's layup just before the final buzzer sounded lifted the Lady Irish to a 54-53 win that also puts them in position to claim the regular-season district title.
Notre Dame's Tyler Byrd (15) gets fouled by Signal Mountain's Griffen Palmer (25) during their game at the Fighting Irish's home gym on Friday, January 30, 2015. In the boys' game, Tyler Byrd's two free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining gave Notre Dame a four-point lead, and it was just enough as the Eagles made a 3-point shot to close the final gap to 63-62. That win could push the Irish to the No. 2 spot in the district tournament.
Siler's game-winner came just after Signal Mountain had taken the lead on an Aryn Sanders 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining. After Notre Dame missed a shot to take the lead, the ball was knocked out of bounds by a Lady Eagles player. On the ensuing inbounds, with Signal Mountain's defense concentrated on Notre Dame outside shooters, Siler got free underneath for a wide-open layup and the win.
"That's a play that we run a lot, but it's usually designed for a shooter to get open outside, not a layup underneath," said Lady Irish coach Wes Moore, whose team now stands 8-1 in 7-AA, while Signal Mountain fell a game back at 7-2. "But she did a great job of recognizing there was an open lane and getting there.
"To come from where we were just four short years ago, when the program struggled to win games, to now being in position to win the district is huge."
Byrd helped Notre Dame open the boys' game with a 6-1 run with one of his three dunks that included a reverse in traffic. But it was his free-throw shooting -- making 15 of 18, including four straight in the closing seconds -- that most led to the win.
"I just kept telling myself that it was just like practice and not to worry about the crowd or anything else except making them," said Byrd, who led all scorers with 27 points.
Notre Dame led for much of the first half and extended its lead to 11 when three of its last four shots of the first half came from behind the 3-point arc. A.J. Flemister had three of his four 3-pointers in the first half.
Signal Mountain closed a late double-digit deficit to six in the final minute and continued to chip away before falling just short.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.