Normally, the last place Marshall coach Al Williams wants 6-foot-8-inch center Kelly Whitney operating is 20 feet from the basket. Except this was no normal situation. The Commandos required a miracle, and Whitney delivered.
Whitney nailed an improbable three-pointer from the left baseline with a second remaining to force overtime Friday against Crane. Marshall led the entire overtime session during which senior guard Andre Goodwin took control, scoring seven of his team-high 25 points in a 94-89 victory over the No. 12 Cougars.
Whitney’s basket was the Commandos’ third three-pointer in the final 47 seconds as No. 2 Marshall overcame a 74-62 deficit in the final 1:42.
“This team never stops believing in ourselves,” Whitney said. “I told Justin Bowen and the other guys, `This game is not over,'” he said.
Whitney corralled a loose ball in the open floor and hit Bowen underneath for an uncontested dunk with 13 seconds remaining for the game’s final points. With the victory, Marshall (24-3, 11-1 in the Red West) won its first section title since the 1991 team finished third in the Class AA state tournament. Had Marshall lost, the Commandos would have fallen into a tie with Young, and the Dolphins held the tiebreaker.
Besides Goodwin, Marshall’s big three of Whitney (21 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks), Justin Bowen (24 points) and Ronald Davis (15 points) paced the Commandos.
“This is a great accomplishment,” Williams said. “It’s very thrilling and gratifying for me, but it never would have happened without my kids, my assistant coaches and the people who support us. These kids have never quit.”
Patrick Z. McGavin.
Next: Marshall, Tuesday at DuSable; Crane, Public League playoffs.
1. Thornwood: Throughout this season, Thornwood’s Eddy Curry has continually stated that the top-ranked Thunderbirds are not a one-man team. And when Curry went to the bench late in third quarter after collecting his fourth foul against No. 15 Bloom, it was an opportune time for his teammates to prove him right.
Not only did Curry’s supporting cast maintain the eight-point lead Thornwood held after the 6-10 All-American left the game, they added to it as well. The Thunderbirds, yet to lose a game in Illinois, won their 18th straight with a convincing 68-49 decision in Chicago Heights.
“This team is totally capable of holding a lead [when I’m not in the game],” Curry said after finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks while in foul trouble most of the game.
The most capable player for the Thunderbirds outside of Curry proved to be Melvin Buckley. He finished with a game-high 24 points and hit two of his four three-pointers in the first quarter as the Thunderbirds raced to a 9-2 lead.
Thornwood improved to 22-1 overall and 9-0 in the SICA East. Bloom fell to 19-6, 5-4. Joe Chapman, Bloom’s leading scorer, was held to nine points.
Next: Saturday vs. Young at Northwestern.
3. Joliet: Roger Powell scored 21 points and hauled down eight rebounds as Joliet (21-4, 8-1) breezed past Lockport 59-37 in the SICA West. Joliet actually trailed 26-25 with 5:01 left in the third quarter, but the Steelmen went on a 12-0 run and scored 25 of the next 29 points to blow the game open. Alando Tucker scored 16 points for Lockport (12-11, 4-5).
Next: Friday at Sandburg.
4. Lincoln-Way: Adam Ferrari scored 19 points to lead the Knights (20-3, 8-1) past Sandburg 63-51 in the SICA West. Kevin Menard and James Augustine each had 15 points and nine rebounds for Lincoln-Way, which led 41-23 after three quarters. Cory Cummens tallied 19 points and nine rebounds and Sean McBride added 17 points, including five three-pointers, for Sandburg (16-9, 5-4).
Next: Friday at home vs. Stagg.
5. West Aurora: In the DuPage Valley, the Blackhawks (20-3, 10-2) rolled past Wheaton Warrenville South 65-44 as Derik Hollyfield scored 21 points and Jamaal Thompson added 16.
Next: Saturday at Naperville North.
6. Downers Grove North: Eric Allen tallied 27 points and 10 rebounds and Kyle Kleckner added 13 points and eight rebounds as the Trojans (23-2, 10-1) blasted Oak Park 72-49 in the West Suburban Silver.
Next: Friday at Hinsdale Central.
7. Proviso East: Dan Brown scored 15 points and Jarett Carswell added 13 as the Pirates (20-3, 11-0) smoked Morton 72-46 in the West Suburban Gold.
Next: Saturday at Proviso West.
8. Brother Rice:Greg Noha scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Crusaders (20-4, 11-1) edged St. Laurence 71-62 and clinched the Catholic League South championship. Ray Jendra added 12 points and six rebounds for Brother Rice. John Tumpane scored 14 points to lead St. Laurence (10-15, 3-9).
Next: Tuesday at Nazareth.
9. Shepard: Mike Smith totaled 22 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Astros (20-4, 5-4) downed Homewood-Flossmoor 66-59 in the SICA East. Brian Nievara added 14 points and eight rebounds for Shepard. Homewood-Flossmoor led 42-41 in the third quarter before Shepard went on a 12-3 run to assume control. Adam Dauskas’ 16 points led H-F (12-11, 4-5).
Next: Friday at Thornton.
11. Farragut: It seems strange to believe that Farragut’s basketball team, after building as much as a 13-point fourth-quarter lead against Manley, would forget about its go-to guy, Elliott Poole. But the 6-7, 215-pound senior was the forgotten man for a key stretch in Farragut’s 65-61 Public Red West win–and it nearly cost the Admirals the game.
After struggling through a sometime stagnant first half, which ended tied 32-32, Farragut seemed ready to blow the doors off Manley (13-13, 2-10), opening the third with a 13-2 run. After building the lead to 53-39, the Admirals watched as Manley reeled off 11 straight points to close to 53-50 with 4:46 left.
Following a Manley technical in which Jason Smith (10 points) hit both ends, the Admirals found Poole (15 points, 13 rebounds) underneath for his lone basket of the fourth to give Farragut a 57-50 lead with 4:40 to play.
Next: Public League playoffs.
13. Morgan Park: Defeated Simeon 66-54.
See story, Back Page.
Next: Public League playoffs.
14. Hillcrest: In SICA Central play, the Hawks (20-4, 9-1) cruised past Tinley Park 66-48 as Chris Dryer scored 20 points and Armon Gates added 15.
Next: Tuesday at home vs. Thornton Fractional North.
15. Bloom:Lost to Thornwood 68-49.
See No. 1 Thornwood, above.
Next: Friday at Thornridge.
16. Evanston:Defeated New Trier 51-47.
See story, Back Page.
Next: Friday at Maine South.
17. Thornton Fractional North: Brad Hatfield scored 15 points and Paris Hardamon added 12 as the Meteors (20-4, 11-0) downed Oak Forest 65-48 in the SICA Central, clinching at least a share of the conference title.
Next: Tuesday at Hillcrest.
18. Schaumburg: Ryan Walter scored on a layup with 12 seconds left and Mark Pancratz added a free throw as Schaumburg (19-3, 10-0) nipped Barrington 67-65 in the Mid-Suburban West. Scott Zoellick led the Saxons with 18 points, while Tony Young added 17 points. Pancratz finished with 14 points, while Walter added six points and eight rebounds.
“We wanted a play to take advantage of them switching screens,” Saxons coach Bob Williams said. “Walter came up and put it in the hole. That was fortunate because Barrington was trying to make us do things we don’t normally do.”
Michael Klear’s three-point play had given Barrington a 65-64 lead with 42 seconds remaining. Jason Richards’ 21 points led Barrington (13-12, 4-6), while Klear finished with 15 points.
Next: Saturday at Elgin.
19. Lyons Township: Jim Maley scored 18 points and A.J. Allodi added 15 points as Lyons (21-3) defeated Downers Grove South 58-47 in a West Suburban crossover game. Lyons trailed 25-18 at halftime but outscored Downers South 24-12 in the third quarter behind seven points from Allodi.
Next: Friday at home vs.. Glenbard West.
20. Loyola: Brendan Falls had 17 points and brother Colin put in 12 points as Loyola (19-5, 10-2) defeated St. Ignatius 50-40 in the Catholic League.
Next: Friday at Mt. Carmel.
