ALTON – After winning their opening Gateway Metro Conference game at Maryville Christian on Tuesday, December 9, the Marquette Explorers kept things rolling, hosting the Althoff Crusaders Friday night and winning 47-43.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Marquette improved to 5-3 on the season and 2-0 in the GMC. Althoff falls to 3-4 and 1-1 in the conference.
“It was fun. It was good for the kids to win this game,” Marquette head coach Steve Medford said. “They deserve it. They’ve been working hard. We’ve had some really close games. Just glad they came out on top tonight.”
It was Medford’s first home conference game since returning as head coach. He previously coached the Explorers from 2010 to 2022, never having a losing season, finishing a 12-year stint with a 276-85 record, eight regional titles, and one sectional title.
Things didn’t start off great for the Explorers, digging themselves into an early 9-3 deficit, trailing 11-5 after the first quarter.
They’d close that gap to 20-18 at halftime.
“I think we had eight turnovers in the first quarter, 10 in the first half,” Medford said. “I think our kids kept doing the things they could control. They kept guarding, rebounding, and doing all the things we keep preaching to them. So, I’m really proud of them. We could’ve got [into] a big hole there, and our kids kept fighting, kept battling, and did a great job.”
The second half was a completely different story.
Chase Jones came alive and scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half. Back-to-back baskets and one, plus a three-pointer, gave his team the lead at 27-22. The Explorers led 31-26 after three. Jones scored 11 of the quarter’s 13 points. The other was a basket from his brother Cameron Jones.
Late into the game, it would seem like it would be determined by free throws. Althoff was in the shooting bonus with 4:19 remaining in the game. But a dagger three from Chase Jones and a basket from Cameron Golike increased the lead to 40-32.
But the Crusaders didn’t go down without a fight.
Kye Johnson’s basket made it 44-40 with 23 seconds left. Steven Brown then nailed a triple to make it 45-43 with 10 seconds to go. Golike would make two game-deciding free throws at the end to get to the final, 47-43.
Medford wasn’t thrilled by the way his team started the game, but ended up loving the result.
“Our guys know what’s expected,” he said. “We have a high standard for our kids and our program, and how they play. It’s not all about winning, but it’s about the way you play and the way you conduct yourself. I think our kids played extremely hard and came out on top.”
Chase Jones led all players and scored a career-high 28 points. Golike added seven points. Cameron Jones and Jack Rea each scored three.
Johnson led the Crusaders with 16 points. Luke Smith had 13 points, and Brown had nine.
Marquette will take the weekend off and prepare for another GMC clash on Tuesday, December 16. The Explorers will host Father McGivney at 7:30 p.m.
“It would be cool to compete for a conference championship,” Medford said. “There are some nice private schools in our conference, and hopefully our guys continue to get better.”
“There’s nobody that’s going to be easy for us,” he continued. “We sometimes have some trouble getting the ball in the hole, but if we just continue to guard, rebound, do what we’re doing, everybody on our schedule is beatable.”
