Scoring touch ignites  Don’s defense in 4th

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La Grange Park, IL - Saturday, January 14, 2012: Notre Dame's Duante Stephens (33) tries to gather a loose ball vs Nazareth's John Bonk (4). | Steve Johnston~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 20, 2012 8:48AM

When the offense comes, the defense usually follows in high school basketball and Notre Dame used a 46-point second half and an elevated defensive effort to win 65-54 over Nazareth Academy on Saturday.

The win improved the Dons’ East Suburban Catholic record to 2-0 and upped their overall mark to 14-4 on the year.

“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in the first half and sometimes for kids, when they make shots it’s much easier for them to play defense,” Notre Dame coach Tom Les said. “In the second half we made shots and then that adrenaline fed into our defense.”

Nazareth (5-11, 1-2) led 23-19 at halftime, holding the Dons (14-4, 2-0) to four second-quarter points. The Dons scored 21 in the third quarter and 25 in the fourth, with junior Matt Mooney icing the game down the stretch by going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Mooney led the Dons in scoring with 16 points, but Les has enjoyed parity in the scoring column throughout the season.

“We’ve had eight or nine different players lead us in scoring on a given night,” Les said. “Tonight it was (Mooney) but I also thought (Joe) Johnson played pretty good tonight and Joe Ferrici had a ton of rebounds for us.”

The Dons trailed 23-19 at halftime before using a 21-16 third-quarter scoring edge to take a 40-35 lead into the final eight minutes. Johnson scored six of his eight points in the third while both Greg Leifel and Justin Halloran buried three-pointers in the period. Halloran finished with nine points on a trio of treys in the contest.

A steal and layup from Mooney, a baseline jumper from Ferrici, and Leifel’s three-pointer closed out the third quarter. Nazareth tied the game in the fourth at 46-46 but the Dons went on a 9-0 run to build a lead they never relinquished.

Notre Dame’s Duante Stephens used a spin move in the post and a twisting layup during the run, and scored all seven of his points in the final quarter. Nazareth began fouling to stop the clock down the stretch but Mooney closed out the win from the charity stripe.

“It was a tough game to play and I’m sure a tough game to officiate,” Les said. “There were so many fouls called during the game that neither team could find any rhythm.

“In the first half we played OK, but didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. But we’ve numerous games this year where we’ve struggled to score in the first half and been behind, and then in the second half we’ve had one or two guys find their shots. Then we’ve guarded better.”

On Friday, Loyola junior Peter Pujals was driving to the basket, hoping to keep the Ramblers’ upset dreams alive against host Notre Dame.

He was trying to tie the game with 23 seconds to play, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Notre Dame junior Matt Mooney knocked the ball away to teammate Donte Stephenson, and the Dons drained three of four free throws from there on to seal a 50-45 victory.

“I saw him driving — he had the ball out in front of him — and I took advantage and grabbed it,” Mooney said.