ALTON – In a nostalgic moment that will be embedded in their memories forever, Trey Aguirre, Tim Derrington, Ben Sebacher and Shandon Boone stepped on to their home court at Marquette Catholic High School for the last time as Explorers this Friday night before their game with Breese Central High School.
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In their Senior Night celebration, the crowds came and packed themselves in as tight as possible in support for the five boys, along with cheerleading captains Katie Ditman and Megan Grove and dancers Julianne Fears, Macie Spencer and Caroline Warren.
Hitting the home court for the final time as dancers, cheerleaders and even basketball players poses its own set of challenges, but the boys and girls in white and blue took the night in stride to fill each and every person in the gymnasium with Explorers pride.
Although the Cougars landed a three-point shot at the final buzzer to ultimately defeat the Explorers 39-36, the game was filled with twists and turns that could excite any sports fan.
Even though his team was beat by the one of the best teams in the state, Marquette Coach Steve Medford was pleased with how his team defended throughout the game and knew that the second senior Logan Kohrmann was able to take possession of the ball at the end of the fourth, it was all over.
Next Tuesday, the Explorers will make their way down to the Dupo Regional to face either East Alton-Wood River High School or the hosting Tigers before possibly reaching the Pickneyville Sectional.
“We had them the entire game and we played well enough to win,” he said. “Tonight, we just kind of whittled under pressure a little bit. It’s hard to take this one.”
Central Coach Jeremy Shubert took the win in stride and even entertained the possibility of seeing Marquette again down the road during the playoff season. One of the highest ranked teams in the state, his team will head to the Trenton Regional to face either Staunton High School or Southwestern High School next Wednesday in attempt to earn a spot in the Pickneyville Sectional, where they may endure a rematch against the Explorers.
“We took the time out and [Mitchel] Rule hit a big three for us there. We talked about pressing them the whole game and we wanted to make sure we had Boone covered,” he said. “I think Logan was tired at the end but you have to give our boys credit. They stepped up and made plays.”
Chase Schneider and Logan Kohrmann kicked off the night for the Cougars by taking an early lead of 5-0 against the Explorers. Luckily, Ben Sebacher, Reagan Snider and Shandon Boone were able to keep their team alive and eventually take the lead to end the period with a score of 12-7.
In the second, Central took the opportunity to snatch the lead back from the Explorers from two back-to-back baskets from Kolby Schulte and Tyler Joest. Then, Kohrmann locked down a three-pointer before Joest knocked in one more to bring the score to 16-12. After a Marquette timeout, Boone was fouled upon and earned two more for his team from the line and then went on to score another basket to tie the game at 16. Jack Strieker knocked in a three-pointer for Central to break the tie and bring the score to 19-16 at the end of the second.
Now, it was time for Marquette to play catch up. Boone, Sebacher and Trey Aguirre contributed to the efforts by the Explorers to push their team back into the lead with a score of 27-22 at the end of the third.
In the fourth, the Cougars came back to tie the score at 27 with four points added by Mitchel Rule. Before they knew it, the Explorers went on a six-point run by Boone before Central called time out with just over three minutes left on the clock. When they came back from the break, Kohrmann hit a three-point shot before Schulte earned one from the foul line. Kohrmann landed a rebound basket to tie the score at 36. At the final buzzer, Kohrmann gained possession of the ball and knocked in a three-pointer to win the game at 39-36 to upset Marquette.
Shandon Boone scored 22 points for the Explorers in his final time playing as an Explorer at MCHS. Reagan Snider followed Boone with 8 points added for the night. Ben Sebacher knocked in four points in the first period while Trey Aguirre scored two points in the third.
Logan Kohrmann locked down 20 points throughout the night. Mitchel Rule scored five key points in the fourth period while Tyler Joest and Kolby Schulte each scored four points. Both Chase Schneider and Jack Streiker landed three points each.
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