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Boys Basketball: Marmion survives Aurora Christian comeback
| Corey R. Minkanic~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: February 10, 2012 11:38PM
When Marmion took a nine-point advantage into the fourth quarter against Aurora Christian Friday night, there was a feeling in the Cadets’ gym that the game still had nail-biter potential.
A game between two evenly matched teams usually goes that way, and this one followed that lead as the Cadets needed some key stops down the stretch to hold off the Eagles and squeak their way to a 50-46 win.
After Cory Windle’s steal and layup with 2:12 to go made it a 47-46 game, Marmion missed the front end of one-and-ones three times in the next 90 seconds and saw the Eagles take four shots for the lead at the other end, including a C.J. Schutt jumper with four seconds to go. All of the Eagles’ attempts were good looks but the Cadets (13-10, 5-4 Suburban Christian Blue) got a hand up that didn’t make them clean ones.
“I was proud of the way we finished on the defensive end,” said Marmion coach Ryan Paradise. “We do that every day in practice, to value one defensive possession when we need it. That kind of thing can cover up some mistakes and it did at the end.”
The Eagles made life hard on themselves with a dreadful third quarter that saw them go 1-for-10 from the field. Aurora Christian (17-6, 5-4) was outscored 17-7 in the period and had a 43-34 deficit to climb back from with eight minutes to go.
“We lost the game in the third quarter when we came out flat,” said Aurora Christian coach Steve Hanson. “We couldn’t find the right defense to stop them, but once we did we fought our way back into it and I was proud of that.”
Pete Stefanski, came out on fire with five three-pointers in the first half. He finished with six treys on the night and a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds. Ryan Glasgow scored nine of his 13 points in the second half as the only other double-figure scorer for Marmion.
“We came out ready, they beat us the last time we played at their place and we didn’t want them to beat us in our house,” Stefanski said. “I was comfortable with my shot and they were going in.”
Schutt and Windle each scored 13 apiece to pace Aurora Christian.
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