NORTHAMPTON — Most teams love the three-point shot.

But at Notre Dame, closer to the basket is better.

Whether it’s forcing turnovers to get easy transition layups or driving to the hoop in its halfcourt offense, the Crusaders are at their best around the rim.

In Saturday’s District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal game against Northern Lehigh at Catasauqua, Notre Dame made 34 of its 37 field goals in the paint — with a huge majority coming within three feet.

That dominance inside led the third-seeded Crusaders to an 89-61 victory over Northern Lehigh, thus ending the Bulldogs’ season.

“They’re very athletic,” said Nolehi head coach Bob Fahler. “They can really finish around the basket. That was kind of our thought going in was we can’t give up layups because they really live off layups, not just off the press but even in their half-court offense. They spread you out and beat you off the dribble, and they’re good at it.

“I thought we started the game doing a really nice job of that. And then we get worn down a little bit. They ran (11) guys out there, and I could see some of our guys were really struggling. They’re not real tall, but they’re physical.”

The Bulldogs held their own in the early going. Fahler’s club trailed 18-11 after the first quarter and cut the gap to just 22-17 a minute-and-a-half into the second frame after back-to-back three-pointers from Dare-Rious Smith and Coy Daubert.

After that, though, the wheels fell off for Northern Lehigh.

Notre Dame’s pressure finally got to the No. 6 seed, forcing five consecutive turnovers during one stretch and eight in the period. That led the Crusaders to easy baskets at the offensive and an eventual 30-point quarter that extended their lead to 22.

“I was very concerned about the game because they can score,” said ND mentor Pat Boyle, whose team will now face Minersville in the semis. “Luckily we were able to cause some turnovers in that second quarter. We were able to play 11 guys in that first 10-minute span, bringing the one unit in to press, and in the second quarter Northern Lehigh got a little tired and we were able to get some turnovers and layups.”

Leading the way for the winners was Carmine Diaz, who shot 10-of-10 from the floor in the first half, scoring 14 of his team’s points in that second period.

“I thought Carmine got himself going by getting a couple put backs early,” said Boyle. “He’s a special talent and if we can get him involved, that’s when we’re at our best.”

A driving bucket by Justin Manning early in the third pushed the Crusader advantage to 30, bringing the mercy rule into play.

“I love these kids,” said Fahler about coaching his players this season. “ ... When you’re in a rut and winning two, three, one, four games you start to kind of get that in your mind so you’re expecting things to go wrong. It’s really important for these guys to believe that it’s not the script for us, and that we’re going to be able to turn it around.”

SCORING LEADERS ... Diaz finished 11-of-14 shooting and ended with a game-high 26 points. The Crusaders also received 16 — 11 of them coming in the first half — from Isaiah Miles. As a team, ND shot 37-of-73 from the floor. For the Bulldogs, Connor Simms netted 24 and Kellen Bauer added 12. Daubert chipped in with 11 and Smith dropped in 10.

SOLE SENIOR ... It was the final Nolehi game for senior Simms, who ended his career with 935 points. “He’s a great kid, a super smart kid, a great student,” said Fahler. “He’s just a really nice young man. If you’re not winning, sometimes the kids just give up, but not him. They picked him as our captain, and he didn’t disappoint.”

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Smith 4-0-0-10, Simms 8-5-8-24, Bauer 5-2-2-12, Salih 1-0-0-2, Daubert 4-0-0-11, Karetsky 0-2-2-2, LoPinto 0-0-0-0, Novicki 0-0-0-0, Schaffer 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-9-12-61.

NOTRE DAME-GP

Manning 5-2-2-12, Ca. Diaz 11-4-5-26, Driscoll 1-1-1-3, Miles 6-3-4-16, Murphy 5-0-0-11, Bohn 0-0-0-0, Akrie 3-1-1-7, Boyd 1-1-2-3, Striba 0-0-0-0, CJ Diaz 3-0-0-7, Youngkin 2-0-0-4, Hall 0-0-0-0, Levy 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 37-12-15-89.

Northern Lehigh 11 15 13 22 - 61

Notre Dame-GP 18 30 20 21 - 89

Three-pointers: Northern Lehigh - Simms 3, Daubert 3, Smith 2; Notre Dame - Miles 1, CJ Diaz 1, Murphy 1.

Records: Northern Lehigh (4-19); Notre Dame (19-5).