ALTON - There was only one way to describe the matchup between Marquette Catholic High School and Roxana High School boys basketball teams this Friday evening: intense.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Throughout the first half, the Shells held command over the Explorers, setting a steady pace and maintaining the control necessary to surpass the 17-7 team prior to the night’s game.
After some interesting calls by the referees, the momentum seemed to switch almost instantaneously to Marquette’s favor, allowing them to score a whomping 30 points in the second half to ultimately grasp the victory with a score of 49-43 at the final buzzer.
To Marquette Head Coach Steve Medford, his team could have lost the game Friday evening at home; however, he applauded freshman Chris Hartrich for coming off of the bench and knocking in a key three-pointer to secure his team’s victory.
“That three at the end by the freshman was a great shot,” he said. “We’re not a three-point shooting team and we shot 28 free throws tonight. That’s not going to get it done for us.”
While reflecting on the game, Medford didn’t seem happy with the results at all.
“I don’t think we did a lot of things right tonight,” he said. “I’m a big believer that you get out of it what you put into it, and that’s how we’ve practiced all week and I’m shocked to see we walked away with a win tonight. We shouldn’t have won this game.”
Roxana Head Coach Mark Briggs came to the game to prove that his team could guard the post and he felt like he succeeded in that this evening.
“We’re really pleased with our kids’ effort, moving passed this game and earning 20 wins,” he said. “We might have another shot against these guys on a different floor and different atmosphere later.”
Briggs also commended Hartrich for the shot he made in the fourth period.
“The three by number 12 was a back breaker,” Briggs mentioned, “It came down to that and it was a game of trading punches and they threw the right one."
The Explorers kicked off the night with the help of Reagan Snider and Ben Sebacher. Snider knocked five points and Sebacher scored a basket as well to bring the score to 7-0.
Unfortunately, the offense for Marquette Catholic stopped from there on and the Shells was able to keep the pace of the game entirely under their control. Fouls on Chance Foss allowed him two free points before Zach Golenor knocked in two baskets in a row. Then, Zach Haas swooshed one in to bring the score to 8-7 in Roxana’s favor at the end of the first.
Roxana held steady into the second with a basket by Blake Vandiver. Shandon Boone knocked in a two-point shot to narrow the gap between the scores before Trace Gentry and Vandiver scored back-to-back three-pointers to extend the score to 16-9.
The Explorers returned into play against the Shells and Boone locked down two back-to-back threes himself. Gentry made his way down court to lock down a three-pointer for himself to keep the lead, but the Explorers were inching closer and closer. After a foul on Haas that allowed the Shells two more free points, Tim Derrington came off the bench and knocked in a much-needed three-pointer. A foul committed on Foss added one more to the scoreboard for Roxana and brought to the score to a close of 22-19 at half.
In the third, it seemed everything that the two teams had built upon had totally shifted. Gentry kicked off the period like any other with a three-pointer, maintaining the lead for the Shells.
After a foul committed on Trey Aguirre allowed the Explorers two free points, Haas extended the lead to six points with a basket. Boone scored a basket himself, bringing the score to 27-23.
Weirdly enough, two technical fouls committed by both Sebacher and Haas had Boone standing at the foul line. Initially, the officials stated that Boone would take four shots, but the rules were misunderstood between the coaches and the referees alike. Although Boone had made one of the four shots, the last two shots were scratched from the board and the point was removed. Gentry also had the opportunity to shoot two free shots and missed both before the referees came to the conclusion that neither boys should have shot in the first place. Since two technical fouls were committed in succession, the two would have cancelled each other out entirely, resulting in no shots from the line.
After an uproar of the audience, the game continued on. Boone redeemed himself from the point loss by adding in two more for good measure. Gentry knocked in a basket himself to extend the lead back to the same margin with a score of 29-25.
A foul on Boone gave the Explorers two more free points closing the gap. With 42.2 seconds left of the period, an intentional foul earned him one more point from the line. Sebacher was able to close the gap and steal the lead for the first time since the beginning of the game to bring the score to 30-29 to end the third.
With such a close battle ahead, this shift turned the night into a whole new ballgame. Snider kicked off the period with the first of many three-pointers for his team this period.
Shortly after, Haas knocked one standard basket in while Gentry took and succeeded in a shot for three to take the lead again at 34-33.
After a timeout by Marquette, Boone found an opening through Roxana’s unstoppable defense and locked down three more.
A foul on Golenor brought the Shells two more points to tie the score at 36 points before the Shells evaluated after calling time. With around four-and-a-half minutes left of the fourth, Gentry was fouled upon and locked down two free points to take the lead by two points.
Foss also landed one from the foul line before Boone tied the score yet again, this time at 39 points. Behind him, Snider pushed his team forward with a shot in for three himself to steal the lead again at 42-41.
Foss made his last basket of the night for two before Marquette called a timeout. After they returned from the break, they tightened up their defenses and made sure that they could secure this game with dignity.
The straw that ultimately broke the camel’s back was indeed the amazing three-point shot by freshman Chris Hartrich, who had come off the bench to relieve a fouled-out Aguirre in the fourth. This play could have possibly gotten into Roxana’s head, causing them to foul upon Boone not once, but twice, allowing him to earn four points from the line.
After a basket by Golenor, the game ended with a score of 49-43 in Marquette’s favor.
Shandon Boone led the Explorers with 26 points on the night. Following him with 11 points added in the first and fourth quarters was Reagan Snider. Ben Sebacher locked in four points total while Tim Derrington and Chris Hartrich each brought one three-pointer each. Trey Aguirre knocked one basket in in the third.
Trace Gentry knocked in a total of 16 points for the Shells. Behind him with eight points each was Zach Golenor and Zach Haas. Chance Foss contributed six points from one basket and four free throws. Blake Vandiver locked in one standard basket and one three-pointer.
More like this:
