The “little things” in the game of basketball a lot of times add up to help teams come away with victories.

It was exactly those little things - such as rebounding, executing inbounds plays and key defensive stops - that served as the difference in Pleasant Valley’s non-league match-up with Notre Dame East Stroudsburg on Monday.

The Bears’ extra effort in those key areas propelled Pleasant Valley to a key 54-51 win over the Spartans.

It was a contest that was not for the faint of heart, but from the start, it was the Bears’ relentless approach on the offensive glass that helped them hold a 24-19 lead at the half. A strong effort from PV forward Jarod Moore in the paint, who scored six points in the second quarter, helped keep the Spartans at an arm’s length.

Notre Dame – which used a trio of three-pointers to stay in the game in the first half, hitting three - could not overcome the Bears’ impressive 17-9 rebounding advantage through the first two quarters of play.

“Our guys just played unbelievably tough on the boards tonight. You could just see with the way they were attacking and hustling that they were playing with a refuse-to-lose mentality,” said Pleasant Valley head coach Bobby Hahn. “It was one of those games where so many guys came through for us. We had a bunch of guys make big shots and grabbing big rebounds, especially late in the game with the game on the line.”

As it was throughout the contest, Notre Dame was able to use the three-ball to stay close to the Bears, and took its first lead (29-28) of the game since the start (2-0) on a Dominick Bojko triple at the 4:30 mark of the third quarter. The Spartans hit three three-pointers in the frame and carried a 37-36 advantage into the fourth quarter.

“Rebounding, and not being able to finish out some defensive possessions, that was the difference in the game. I thought our initial defense was pretty good on almost every possession, but we just weren’t able to finish out the possessions with stops,” said Notre Dame head coach Matt Gallagher. “But I’m so proud of my guys. We played with a ton of resiliency tonight and we kept battling. We had some guys out, including our second-leading scorer, so despite the fact that we didn’t come away with the win, I was proud with the way our guys battled.”

The fourth quarter was back-and-forth, featuring seven lead changes. With the Spartans leading 51-50 late in the period after a put back from Roman Parris, the Bears once again utilized their effort in being effective at the little things, perfectly executing an inbounds play underneath the basket to get big man Zach Prator a wide-open bucket on the left block with 18 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame then tried to answer and got a good look off a strong drive from Jayden Freeman from the left wing that just glanced off the right side of the rim. The rebound was then hauled in by Moore with one second remaining to seal the win for PV.

“I’ve been preaching all year – it is the little things that matter, and those are the type of plays that helped us come away with the victory tonight. Rebounding, executing our inbounds plays, taking offensive charges. Those are all parts of the game that can make a huge impact,” said Hahn. “I was just so proud of our guys focus down the stretch to execute and pull out the win.”

REBOUND HOUNDS

... Jarod Moore finished the night with nine rebounds and Austin Ratti collected seven boards. The Bears out-rebounded the Spartans 35-17.

LEADING SCORERS

... Moore led the way for PV with 21 points and Ratti added 10. Xavier Spears led the Spartans with 13 and Jayden Freeman had 11.

PLEASANT VALLEY

J. Moore 7-7-12-21, Greene 0-2-2-2, Hallenback 3-1-1-8, Lucas 0-0-0-0, P. Moore 3-0-0-6, Ratti 3-2-4-10, Prator 3-1-3-7. TOTALS: 19-13-22-54.

NOTRE DAME

Freeman 4-0-0-11, Naughton 0-1-2-1, McCain 4-0-2-8, Spears 4-5-6-13, Parris 3-0-0-7, Bojko 4-0-0-11. TOTALS: 19-6-10-51.

Pleasant Vy. 12 12 12 18 - 54

Notre Dame ES 8 11 18 14 - 51

Three-pointers: PV - Ratti 2, Hallenback 1; ND - Bojko 3, Freeman 3, Parris 1.