Wainscott sparks Marmion's comeback win over St. Charles East
Like most point guards, Collin Wainscott likes to have the ball in his hands come crunchtime.
Wainscott, a 6-foot-2 senior, scored 9 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter during Marmion's 65-53 nonconference basketball victory over St. Charles East (7-8) Friday night in Aurora.
The Cadets (12-4) trailed 48-47 after 3 quarters and found themselves behind 50-47 following Drew Clarke's baseline jumper on the Saints' opening possession of the fourth quarter.
From there, Marmion hit the Saints with a 12-0 run, ignited by senior forward Trevon Roots' baby hook and back-to-back baskets from Wainscott - a 3-pointer that gave the Cadets a 52-50 lead with 5:23 remaining, and a driving layup 30 seconds later to make it 54-50.
"Before the fourth quarter, Coach (Joe Piekarz) said, 'we've got to step it up,' and this is one of the games we said that we have to win," said Wainscott, who added a game-high 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals.
"I like having the ball in my hands and seeing where it goes. I feel like it's best for me to have the ball in my hands when it comes late in the game so I can make the decisions."
Anderson Conlin found Henry Dalmann for a layup, and Roots (16 points) connected on a 3-pointer to complete Marmion's 12-0 run, extending the lead to 59-50 with 2:50 remaining.
"We made some plays in the fourth quarter," said Piekarz. "We made some adjustments defensively to finally slow them (Saints) down. We were having a tough time slowing them down and they were getting out in transition.
"We started doing the things that we do, and it was a nice fourth quarter for us."
Piekarz wasn't surprised that Wainscott stepped up down the stretch.
"That's the time he does a lot of his stuff," the coach said of the fourth quarter. "He got to the rim well tonight. That's what we're looking for out of him.
"Collin is our point guard, he's one of our leaders."
Dalmann scored a game-high 18 points, including 16 first-half points and four 3-pointers, for the Cadets.
"I give Henry a lot of credit," said Piekarz. "He's the one who has stepped into the starting lineup with Jabe Haith being out (injured). He has come in and completely taken advantage of the opportunity.
"He has started three games, and in two of the three games, that's exactly what he has done."
Steven Call and Brad Monkemeyer scored 12 points apiece, while Clarke had 10 points for the Saints, who wasted a chance to climb above the .500 mark.
"You can't score five points in the fourth quarter and expect to win," said Saints coach Patrick Woods. "We've had troubles finishing all year. It's something we've got to get better at. Defensively, we didn't do what we're supposed to do on the ball screen.
"We missed 14 layups. You've got to finish."