Marmion upends Sterling at DeKalb
While Marmion failed to close out Sterling in textbook fashion, it did just enough to get the job done.
The Cadets watched a 12-point advantage evaporate in the final five minutes, but Jon Young's floater in the lane with 19 seconds left allowed them to escape with a 54-52 victory over the previously unbeaten Golden Warriors in Saturday's first round game of the Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament in DeKalb.
Myles Williams missed a 3-pointer for Sterling on the ensuing possession and Sterling Thornton's desperation half-court heave at the buzzer was too strong off the backboard.
“I saw I could take the guy one-on-one. I just got past him and the lane was open, so I put it up. I knew if I missed Mick (Sullivan) and Matt (Fletcher) were there to tip it in,” said Young, who played all 32 minutes and collected 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals to go along with 4 points.
“Our nerves got to us a little bit on a couple of possessions, but then Jon was able to get us settled back down and guys hits some big shots when we needed to,” said Marmion coach Joe Currie.
When Marmion (6-4) struggled offensively in the early going, juniors Myles Schoonover and Sam Doroff provided a huge spark off the bench by combining for 19 first-half points.
Schoonover, who finished with a game-high 15 points, tallied 8 straight points for a 22-18 lead midway through the second quarter. Doroff hit all three 3-point attempts and gave the Cadets a 27-23 halftime edge with a trifecta from the corner.
“That's what we're looking for out of them,”Currie said. “We just really like the energy level Myles brings us off the bench and Sam is that one where teams don't know if he's a driver or a shooter. He hit some big shots for us.”
The Cadets extended their lead to 44-32 with 6:33 left in the fourth as Hunter Weber scored 7 unanswered points, including a third quarter, buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Sterling (6-1) went on an 8-point run before Sullivan's 3-point play off a dunk pushed the Marmion lead back to 50-43. Myles Williams answered with consecutive Sterling 3-pointers to even the score at 50-50 with 2:57 remaining. The teams traded baskets before Young's game-winner.
Sullivan collected 9 points and 11 rebounds while Fletcher added 6 points for Marmion, which enters Monday's second round 3:15 p.m. game against Glenbrook North riding a 4-game winning streak.