advertisement

Hampshire tops Marmion to take 5th at DeKalb

​It took awhile for the shots to start dropping for Marmion and Hampshire Saturday in the fifth-place game at the 87th annual Chuck Dayton Tournament in DeKalb.

Hampshire didn't get on the scoreboard until two-and-a-half minutes into the game when Drew Doran knocked down a 16-foot jumper.

The Cadets had even more problems, not getting a point until the 2:42 mark of the first quarter on a putback bucket from Jake Esp.

The lid eventually came off the basket for Hampshire. Marmion? Not so much.

The Whip-Purs led 11-4 after one quarter and never trailed in their 58-52 victory, completing a 3-1 tournament.

About the only thing that bothered Hampshire coach Bob Barnett were his team's 24 turnovers, but their defense more than made up for it.

"Defensively we played very smart," Barnett said. "We tagged their screens, we laid off some of the kids we didn't think would shoot as much."

Hampshire (10-2) only lost to Moline in the tournament.

"I'm real pleased," Barnett said. "I told them before the game 2-2 is like kissing your sister. It's no fun, 3-1 looks a lot better."

Jake Tuttle opened the second quarter by sinking a 3-pointer and drawing the second foul on Esp, Marmion's leading scorer who opened the tournament with a 39-point game. Esp didn't play again in the half and never got going, finishing with 6 points.

Tuttle's shot opened a 14-4 Hampshire lead, one that proved to be its biggest. Josh Ruddy came off the bench to help Marmion get back in the game with a 3-point play in transition, then he canned a 3-point jumper. Jordan Glasgow got just enough English to spin a shot off the backboard and bring the Cadets (6-5) within 21-20.

Hampshire pushed its lead back to 28-22 at halftime on back-to-back steals and scores from sophomore Brennen Woods, the later on a slam dunk.

Woods, who led Hampshire with 16 points, made the all-tournament team along with Marmion's Esp.

"He's come a long way from last year," Barnett said. "I have to remember he's just a sophomore. We expect a lot of him and he's up to the challenge."

The Cadets lost their cool a couple times in the second half. Hunter Weber picked up a technical foul in the third quarter that also went down as his fifth personal. Cadets coach Joe Currie said the team especially missed Weber in the final minutes when they needed an extra 3-point shooter on the court.

Matthew Bridges, second to Woods for Hampshire with 12 points, made the technical free throws and Tuttle had another to push their lead from 35-32 to 38-32.

Marmion's second technical came in the fourth on Matt Fletcher.

"Those were a big turning point," Currie said. "We talked about playing with emotion but play your game. Things don't always go your way."

Glasgow did everything he could to bring the Cadets back in the fourth, scoring 9 of his game-high 19 points. The Cadets got as close as 45-41 on his basket and later 54-49 on his 3 with 1:01 remaining.

John Young's steal gave the Cadets the ball back with a chance to get closer, but Esp couldn't get a short shot to drop and Young missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to complete a night where nothing seemed to click offensively for the Cadets.

"We just focused on basic defense," Woods said. "We locked down. Our team did a really good job on defense."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.