HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : In a Zone, Notre Dame Routs Crespi and Marcaccini, 73-56

SHERMAN OAKS —  Notre Dame High’s 73-56 drubbing of arch-rival Crespi in a Mission League boys’ basketball game on Friday night at Notre Dame had nothing--yet everything--to do with Gianandrea Marcaccini.

The Knights (15-5, 6-1) insist they harbor no ill feelings toward Marcaccini, Crespi’s high-scoring senior forward who transferred from Notre Dame last season.

Yet stopping Marcaccini proved decisive as Notre Dame rallied to turn a tight game into a rout in the second half.

Marcaccini scored the game’s first eight points and 11 in the first quarter as Crespi (7-12, 0-7) appeared poised to avenge a 66-63 loss to the Knights on Jan. 4.

By halftime, Marcaccini had 17 points, although Notre Dame had fought back to take a 29-24 lead.

However, Marcaccini scored only four points the rest of the way, thanks to a shifting, stifling zone defense that checked his every move.

“We picked up our defense in the second half,” first-year Notre Dame Coach Chris Perez said. “We tried to take the ball out of his hands, get to him early before he could make his move.”

It worked. Marcaccini managed only seven shots in the second half and found himself the center of attention whenever he touched the ball.

“They were really quick switching on the picks,” Marcaccini said.

Perez said his players focused on Marcaccini as a member of the Celts, not as a former teammate.

“There are no hard feelings,” Perez said. “It’s a very intense rivalry between the two schools. But it’s very friendly.”

Said Marcaccini: “Half the guys I played against tonight are friends of mine.”

That includes Tom Zapata, who scored 17 points, including nine in the second quarter as the Knights surged ahead to stay.

Zapata’s jump shot midway through the second quarter gave Notre Dame its first lead, 19-18. Moments later, Zapata made another jumper and followed with a three-pointer to give the Knights a 24-20 lead and permanent control.

They didn’t look back. They just kept their eyes on Marcaccini.

“Everybody just helped out and stepped in,” Zapata said. “It was all about bragging rights, basically. If they won, they’d be doing all the talking tomorrow. Whenever the gym’s packed like this, it’s a big game.”

Notre Dame’s Tyler Murphy scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half. He connected on two jump shots, a layup and an inside basket for nine third-quarter points as the Knights moved to a 52-39 advantage.

Notre Dame trails first-place Harvard-Westlake by half a game and gets a rematch with the Wolverines Thursday night after losing the first time around.

Colin Plume scored 11 points and junior guard Ryan Bowne added 10 for Notre Dame.