Marist sophomore Morgan Taylor has no problem coming off the bench.
It’s obvious by the way he performed Tuesday against St. Rita — being the sixth man suits him just fine.
Taylor converted his first four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points to lead Marist to a dominant 63-47 win over host St. Rita.
“My teammates were giving me the ball in good spots,” said Taylor, a 6-foot-2 guard. “Once the first one went down, my confidence went up.”
Marist (17-3) connected on 12 of its first 16 shots, including seven 3-pointers, in taking a 30-14 advantage.
After Chamar Hawkins hit a 3-pointer to give the RedHawks a 9-6 lead, Taylor entered and promptly buried a pair of threes. His second ignited a 15-0 run that stretched the RedHawks’ lead to 27-10.
“Morgan is a real good player,” said Hawkins, a 6-3 senior swingman who finished with 15 points. “Coming off the bench, people don’t expect him to score like that. We know by the way he practices that he can score.”
Marist coach Gene Nolan had little to complain about.
“We got off to a great start,” Nolan said. “We’ve been really good defensively throughout the year. To be able to shoot that well and play good defense, it was really good to see.”
It was a hole St. Rita (7-13) had little chance to dig out of, especially without senior Te’mon Green and sophomore Jordan Matthews. Green suffered a left knee injury that will keep him out the rest of the season. Matthews is sick.
“They came out on fire and we couldn’t recover,” St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare said.
If there was a bright spot for the Mustangs, it was generating offense in the fourth quarter. Chris Williams (18 points) and Demauris Dixon (14 points) scored 18 of St. Rita’s 20 points in the fourth.
“We have to do that in the first two quarters,” DeCesare said. “You hit some shots early and it gives you confidence the rest of the game.”
While Taylor and Hawkins led the way, Marist received another balanced effort. Kevin Lerma, Maurice Commander and David Daniels each finished with nine points.
The win was especially sweet for Hawkins, who lost to St. Rita the previous two years on varsity and as a freshman.
“It feels real good to finally beat them,” Hawkins said. “This was the best start to a game that we’ve had and the best finish. We’ve been up on teams a lot and let them get back into the game.
“All coach kept telling us was to keep our foot on the gas and don’t stop. We kept attacking and played smart.”
The RedHawks face another big test Friday when they travel to Chicago Heights to take on Marian Catholic in an East Suburban Catholic Conference showdown.
“We can’t let this game get into our heads,” Hawkins said. “But playing the way we did, it definitely gives us a boost.”
Twitter: @disabato
