When Elvin Husejnovic and his teammates on the Notre Dame basketball team walked into Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday, March 15, the senior guard asked where the school’s students would sit.
The answer was sections 107, 108 and 109 — behind the west basket in Northwestern’s arena. Sections 107 and 109 have 14 rows of wooden seats. Section 108 has 12.
“I honestly said, ‘I don’t think we’re going to fit that many people,’ ” Husejnovic said. “My teammates looked at me and they were like, ‘You’re crazy. They’re going to fill it up.’ “
The Dons ran out for warmups a little more than 20 minutes before the tip-off of the Class 4A supersectional in Evanston — a game Curie held on to win 65-62 — and Husejnovic received his answer.
“When we ran out, I saw that whole [area] was filled,” Husejnovic said. “I was shocked.”
Notre Dame’s fan section was a raucous sea of green throughout the game. It was loud and energetic beforehand — the Dons shouted “OH!” after nearly every Curie miss in pregame warm-ups — and during all four quarters. The Condors built a 10-point lead in the third quarter, however, and they continued to lead by 10 with 6:28 remaining in the fourth.
Curie did so thanks in part to its offensive rebounding in the first three quarters. The Condors (26-5) grabbed 13 offensive rebounds during that span.
“The offensive rebounding was huge,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “I knew we could rebound with them. But the guys … just went to the boards hard for us tonight.”
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Notre Dame (25-7) rebounded much better in the fourth quarter as it mounted its comeback to the delight of its fans.
“They’ve been behind us the whole season, especially in the playoffs,” Husejnovic said. “They help us bounce back.”
A hi-lo pass that resulted in a lay-up by senior center Anthony D’Avanzo cut Curie’s lead to 58-53 with 3:22 remaining. Curie sophomore Landers Nolley II (17 points) responded by getting to the line and hitting two free throws at the basket on the opposite side of the Notre Dame student section.
After that, Curie went ice cold from the free-throw line. DePaul recruit Devin Gage missed two free throws. The senior guard’s second attempt was an air ball, causing sections 107, 108 and 109 to chant “AIR BALL! AIR BALL! AIR BALL!” in unison.
Gage followed with a lay-up, but Notre Dame pulled within 62-58 on an and-one bucket by junior forward Chris Heinichen with 1:44 left. Gage turned the ball over on the following possession, but junior guard Matt Stritzel’s two-handed runner in the lane was too strong and the Dons had to foul.
They fouled junior Elijah Joiner, another Division I talent. Joiner faced the basket opposite of Notre Dame’s student section, yet its yells of “YOU WILL MISS! YOU WILL MISS!” filled the gym.
Joiner missed his first attempt.
Seconds later, Notre Dame’s fans shouted “RATTLED! RATTLED! RATTLED!”
Joiner missed again.
The Dons fed the ball to D’Avanzo, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, on their next possession. He did a drop step and scored with his left hand to make it 62-60, right in front of Notre Dame’s student section.
At that moment, the Dons’ fans were the loudest they had been all night.
“The school spirit we have is unlike any other school I’ve ever seen,” Husejnovic said. “I’m definitely going to miss playing in front of all of those guys.”
Notre Dame wasn’t able to complete its comeback. Nolley made two free throws with 25 seconds remaining and Curie held on to advance to state for the first time in school history.
“We have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to put our heads down about,” D’Avanzo said. “Last year, we had 26 wins. This year, 25 wins. We were all a part of that, so it was just great. Fifty-one wins together.”
After the final buzzer sounded and the teams shook hands, Curie posed for pictures and celebrated as Notre Dame walked to its locker room. But first, the Dons — coach Tom Les, his assistants and his players — paid tribute to the sea of green in sections 107, 108 and 109.
They faced the student section and clapped as it chanted, “We are ND! We are ND!” over and over.
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports