Head coach Cody Best talks to his team during a timeout at a home game earlier this season.

WATERLOO – The Explorers managed to do it again.

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The Marquette Catholic High School boy’s basketball team ended their regular season with a 47-41 win over Gibault Catholic (24-7) Thursday night.

This was the second AP-ranked team that Marquette has beaten this season. Back on Feb. 3 the Explorers beat then-undefeated and Associated Press No. 3 ranked Christ Our Rock Lutheran by a score of 40-38.

The Gibault Hawks were ranked at No. 8 in Class 1A by AP. The win finishes Marquette at 19-12 on the season.

Gibault led 14-12 after the first quarter but Marquette went on an 11-5 run in the second to take a 23-19 lead at the half.

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Both teams scored 14 points in the third, but it was the Explorers who pulled away in the fourth to take the win.

Marquette had three double-digit scorers. They were led by senior Parker Macias with 14 points, junior Braden Kline with 13, and Jaden Rochester who’s become a mainstay in the starting lineup with 12. Senior Kendall Lavendar scored eight. The Explorers only had those four scorers.

It was Marquette’s defensive effort that won them the game according to coach Best. He said that his team’s defense has really stepped it up these past few weeks.

The win makes it four in a row and seven of the last eight to end the season as the team heads toward the playoffs full of confidence.

“We’re playing our best basketball at the most important time of the year. Now the fun begins,” coach Best said.

The Explorers earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in their respected sub-sectional, so their fun won’t start until Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Marquette awaits the winner between No. 6 Vandalia and No. 8 Litchfield. The Explorers will play the winner at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Litchfield in a Class 2A Regional Semifinal.

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