It was a turnaround jumper from the lane, a fierce flash of athleticism by grinding 6-foot-1 junior forward Anthony Salata, that got the Joliet Catholic Academy boys basketball team into gear.

After layups by junior guards Keith Craig and James Ragen, Salata’s swish forced a third tie at 6-6 in the first quarter. Junior forward Ryan Peter’s 3-pointer produced the final tie at 11-11 in the second quarter.

Where do you go from here?

“We did — we came out really strong,” Salata said. “It felt great, everyone felt great, and we knew we had to step it up because Notre Dame is one of the best teams in our conference. We’re used to fast teams, they have a lot of speed, and there was a lot of back-and-forth. We just don’t have much size.

“When you’re trying to get rebounds, it’s tough when you’re a 6-footer going up against 6-7 guys. We have the strength to compete against big guys, we just don’t have the height, but we still competed.”

No one could find fault with JCA’s compete level in the Student Activity Center. Salata, for one, tied for the team lead in rebounds with 6 as Notre Dame nudged past the start for a 62-39 decision.

In another physical East Suburban Catholic Conference struggle, JCA (5-7, 0-6) received 14 points and 3 rebounds from Peter and 10 points from junior guard Shakar Washington. Craig added 6 rebounds.

However, all Notre Dame (17-6, 4-2) needed was a timeout after Peter scored on a lay-in and followed with his three for the 11-11 deadlock only 1:28 into the second quarter. The Hilltoppers then went the next 12:58 without a field goal and the Dons did their clinching damage with an overwhelming 26-3 run.

“And it’s not for a lack of good looks,” JCA coach Joe Gura said. “We had 5-6 excellent looks that didn’t go in for us. We gave a supreme effort against a very hard team to defend. It’s like a war of attrition.

“They wore us down, and they are winning a ton of ballgames for a reason. Fundamentally, that might be the best basketball team we have played all year. They have weapons; we gave them a hard game.”

Hardly without a highlight, JCA came up with Peter’s conversion of a rare 4-point play. Peter made a three with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter and was fouled on the shot. He also nailed a continuation drive for a 3-point play at 5:41 left in the fourth. The deficits were cut to 45-20 and 52-29, respectively.

“I was a bit surprised,” Peter said. “I had the same thing happen last year, but I missed the free throw. On my drive, the ref told me when I stepped to the line, ‘A little NBA call there for you.’ It was nice.”

The fourth quarter also developed nicely for JCA. The Hillmen outscored ND 19-17, boosted by the bench of junior forwards Ira Hughes (4 points, 2 rebounds) and Vince Stalteri (2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) and junior guard Zach Siegfried (2 points). And the epitome of JCA’s effort was found in Salata.

“There’s no looking back,” he said. “There are no breaks for us. We’re still trying to catch up every moment of every game. We’re always trying to win and we’re fighting to come back. It’s in our hearts.”

NOTES: It was a stereotypical, swallow-the-whistle game of officiating. Notre Dame was called for 8 fouls and JCA 7 … Notre Dame shot 25-of-54 (46.3 percent) from the floor to JCA’s 16-of-45 (35.6 percent) and also converted at 8-of-20 (40 percent) from three to JCA’s 2-of-8 (25 percent) … The Dons put a pair in double-figure scoring with senior guard Greg Leifel hitting for a game-high 17 points and junior guard Brett Bartes contributing 10. Leifel shot 6-of-10 from the floor and a red-shot 5-of-8 from three … Nine different players scored for JCA, but ND had seven players score at least 4 points. “Our legs run out and they have people come off the bench with energy,” Peter said. …  Once again, Gura was pleased with the effort despite the outcome. “Our kids are playing their butts off,” he said. “With the exception of one game, I appreciate how hard they are playing. It’s not because we’re not playing hard.” … Junior center/forward Adam Janusz-Lancaster delivered back-to-back assists to start the first quarter … Washington scored 8 of his points in the fourth … Peter scored 11 points in the middle quarters.