Waubonsie Valley advances to final

High-scoring Waubonsie Valley will have better offensive showings.

It was the Warriors defense that keyed a 51-33 win over King in semifinal action of the Hinkle Holiday Classic on Friday night.

"Our defense was outstanding," said Waubonsie Valley coach Jason Mead. "They score in the 60s and 70s and score a lot of easy baskets in the transition game. We did a great getting back on defense and contesting their shots. We executed our defensive game plan. On offense we were too passive."

The Warriors (12-1), in their first year in the tournament, will play Cary-Grove for the championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. King plays Barrington for third place at 6 p.m.

"Cary-Grove is an interesting team that will present some matchup problems for us," said Mead, a third-year coach for the Warriors. "This is my first team at Waubonsie Valley in the championship game of a Christmas tournament so we are very excited."

The Warriors' defensive numbers were staggering. King, which committed 22 turnovers, made only 12 of 40 shots from the floor. The Jaguars were 3 of 12 from beyond the arc.

In the first half King made only 5 of 20 from the field in scoring 12 points.

The game was close early with 3 lead changes. With the game tied at 7, the Warriors went on a pivotal 9-0 run to take a 16-7 advantage Waubonsie Valley scored the final 5 points of the first quarter and led 12-7 after eight minutes. Marcus Skeete scored on a layup and Eric Cannon connected on a 3 for the Warriors 5 points.

The Warriors scored the first 4 points of the second quarter on baskets by Skeet and Cannon to complete the 9-0 run and give the Warriors a 16-7 lead with 5:16 left in the first half.

King ended a five-minute scoring drought on a 3 by Ken Gibbs to make the score 16-10 with 4:08 remaining before halftime.

Leading 22-12 at half, the Warriors totally seized control of the game starting the third quarter on a 10-2 run. Led by 7 points by Mason Marinelli, who scored all of his 9 points in the quarter, including a 3, Waubonsie Valley led 32-14 with 4:27 left .

"Mason hit a big 3 and really gave us a big lift off the bench," Mead said. "It was his best game of the season. He really helped us get control of the game in the third quarter."

Skeete paced Waubonsie Valley with 13 while Cannon added 11. Isaiah Kelly and Davarrion Reynolds led the Jaguars with 7 apiece.