A new era in Marshall basketball began with a rousing start Saturday at the Chicago Public Schools Holiday Shootout at Chicago State.
The Commandos, who are coming off back-to-back third-place finishes in Class AA, are under the new leadership of former Marshall player Courtney Hargrays, who took over for fired coach Lamont Bryant before the school year.
“Everything is going really good with coach,” guard Ryan Hare said. “We listen to him and respect him, and we’re getting to know him as a person, which is good.”
The third-ranked Commandos (1-0) didn’t skip a beat in Hargrays’ debut with a commanding 73-52 victory over Bloom.
Hare opened the contest against Bloom (5-3) with a three-pointer to give them the early momentum. Marshall took a 38-21 halftime lead and never looked back.
Senior point guard Ardarius Simmons and senior guard Davaris Davis each scored 15 points to lead Marshall. Hare finished with 12 points and three steals, and Simmons added six assists.
Jawan Nelson scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down four rebounds for Bloom.
Peoria Richwoods 48, Curie 42
Curie lost a three-point fourth-quarter lead to suffer its first loss of the season against its Downstate opponent. The Condors (1-1) were held to just one field goal in the fourth quarter. Donavan Foster led Curie with 13 points. Aaron Davis scored 18 for the Knights (5-1).
Von Steuben 61, De La Salle 59
Four players scored in double figures for Von Steuben (3-0), which never trailed while handing De La Salle (7-1) its first loss of the season.
“We came out to make a statement,” said Panthers guard Mike Dinunno, who scored 12 points. “We took it as an insult that they were ranked higher than us.”
Cordarrel Eldridge led Von Steuben with 15 points, while Elliott Brown scored a game-high 22 for the Meteors.
Crane 44, Glenbrook North 41
Dion Dixon’s 23-foot shot at the buzzer gave Crane its first victory of the season. Dixon led the Cougars (1-1) with 18 points, while Brian Peel and Alex Dragicevich scored 12 each for the Spartans (5-2).
