Darius Smith is Marshall’s lock-down defender, and his assignment Friday was Washington’s 6-foot-3-inch three-point specialist, Matt Roth.
“I had heard a lot about him but never seen him play before,” Smith said. “When he hit that first shot from 25 feet, I was thinking, ‘Oh, man, I guess he is that good.'”
With help from his teammates, Smith slowed Roth just enough in the second half to provide Marshall with a 63-57 victory over Washington in the Class 3A semifinals at Carver Arena.
Marshall (31-4) was to face Simeon (29-3) in Saturday’s 12:45 p.m. title game.
After scoring 12 points in the first half to put Washington (26-4) ahead 30-29, Roth was limited to eight for the second half.
With 27 seconds left in the game and Washington trailing 60-54, Roth grabbed a loose ball and swished a three-pointer. But a Smith free throw with 13.3 seconds left and two more by Ryan Hare with 4.7 seconds to go sealed it for the Commandos.
Roth led Washington with 20 points, including 6 of 12 three-pointers.
Eriq Harris (10 points, nine rebounds) sparked an 11-0 Commandos run starting late in the third quarter, after which the Panthers couldn’t come closer than three.
Davaris Davis led Marshall with 11 points. Hare had 10 and Ardarius Simmons nine. Smith collected seven points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
———-
bsakamoto@tribune.com
