Marmion's lead slips away vs. Glenbrook North
There was a period of about three and a half minutes in the third quarter Tuesday when Glenbrook North took control over Marmion, and that was about all it took.
The Spartans rallied from Marmion's 5-point halftime lead, and from 6 points down with 3:36 left in the third quarter when coach Dave Weber's club went on a 10-0 run.
That, as Marmion coach Joe Currie said, was the key to Glenbrook North's 67-56 win in the second day of action at DeKalb's 87th annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic.
"That became the difference in the ballgame, we just couldn't get a bucket to fall," said Currie, whose Cadets play Sterling at 5 p.m. Friday. Glenbrook North gets red-hot St. Charles East in an 8 p.m. semifinal.
Marmion's Jake Esp, coming off a career-high 39 points in Monday's win over Eisenhower, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The senior forward scored 15 points in a half Marmion (5-4) led 34-29, with guard Josh Ruddy adding 7 of his 10 points.
As much as Esp was the focus of Glenbrook North defenders, Pat Hamilton was for Marmion.
"The focus was No. 24," said Marmion forward Matt Fletcher. "We knew he was going to get shots off, and we knew he was going to make them, too."
That he did. The slashing 6-foot-4 forward scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. In that third quarter, Glenbrook North (8-3) got Michael Stachnik involved as well.
After Hamilton sank a 3 off an inbounds play to trim the deficit to 41-38, Stachnik came up with a steal, getting a third foul on Marmion's gutty 11-point scorer Jordan Glasgow in the process.
Stachnik converted a conventional three-point play then turned an open look into an inside basket. Next time down, despite an Esp block Jonathan Simon gathered the ball and scored to give the Spartans a 45-41 lead after three quarters.
"We were playing really good defense, helping on 24 (Hamilton) and still staying on our man and rebounding very well," Esp said. "That third quarter we weren't rebounding well and we were over-helping on No. 24."
Glenbrook North widened the gap to 49-41 just over a minute into the fourth quarter when Marmion made a push. Esp scored in the lane, Fletcher converted Glasgow's baseball pass for a hoop and a Glasgow free throw had the Cadets within 49-46 at 4:32 of the fourth.
Glenbrook North then peeled off a 9-3 run to go up 58-49 with 1:01 to play. The nearest Marmion approached was 6 points, twice, the last time on a Glasgow bucket to make it 60-54 with 43.8 seconds left.
"I'm proud of the kids," Currie said. "I thought they battled four quarters. You battle four quarters and see what happens. We'll come back Friday."