GREEN BAY — The West De Pere Phantoms (4-0) continued their undefeated start to the season Tuesday night, surviving a late push from Notre Dame Academy (1-4) to earn a 66-65 win in a highly contested conference matchup.
West De Pere set the tone early by leaning on its defensive identity, building a 30-17 lead by halftime behind offensive pressure and active defense. Junior Carson Samson paced the Phantoms in the opening half with 11 points, matching teammate Patrick Greisen as the team’s leading scorers.
“We felt like we had to come in and play great defensively,” head coach Todd Deschane said. “That’s where we kind of hang our hat on.”
That defensive focus showed early, as West De Pere limited Notre Dame’s offensive rhythm and forced tough possessions. Samson credited preparation in practice for the strong start.
“We knew we had to shut down three kids on that team,” Samson said. “We were working on guarding those really good players,” he noted of the team’s preparation in practice.
The Tritons came out hot in the second half, cutting the lead to 45-35 with 10 minutes remaining. Samson continued to attack offensively though, reaching 19 points at that point, while Notre Dame’s AJ Hendricks began to heat up to keep the Tritons within striking distance.
Midway through the half, West De Pere appeared in control with a 58-49 advantage and Samson pushing his total to 23 points. But Notre Dame responded with a late surge, capitalizing on West De Pere offensive errors and timely shooting to cut into the lead.
“We gave up, I believe, eight or nine out of 11 possessions in a row to start the second half where we allowed them to score and let them get back into the game,” Deschane said. “That gave them some momentum going into it, and we had a dogfight the rest of the way.”
As the clock wound down, Notre Dame pulled within one, setting up a tense final sequence. West De Pere was able to do just enough in the closing moments to hold on and escape with the win.
“When the chips are stacked against you… you’ve just got to stay together as a group,” Deschane said. “We managed to do that enough.”
Samson finished with a game high 25 points, while Hendricks led Notre Dame with 19. Despite the narrow margin, the Phantoms early defensive effort and balanced contributions proved enough to withstand the late comeback by Notre Dame.
“Our defense is definitely one of our strong points,” Samson said. “It definitely helped us out a lot in this game.”
The win keeps West De Pere undefeated through four games as it continues to adjust to a new conference schedule. While the finish highlighted areas to clean up, the Phantoms remained focused on the bigger picture.
“We’ve never played Sheboygan North,” Samson said on the upcoming matchup. “We’re all going to try and scout… and figure out how we’ve got to play them.”
West De Pere will look to build on its strong start when it faces Sheboygan North on Monday, while Notre Dame Academy will regroup against Xavier on Dec. 29.
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