GREENVILLE - Illinois’ Class 2A Basketball Regional Championship belongs to the Marquette Explorers. The young Explorers team had a dominating performance against the Greenville Comets with a final score of 55-24. While putting up two points in the game, #11 junior point-guard, Dre Davis, did several other key things and played a role in the Explorers championship.
Davis is one of the Tucker's Automotive and Tire Explorers' Male Athletes of the Month.
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Davis plays small-forward, point-guard, shooting-guard, and slots for some of the Explorer’s best players like Parker Macias, Kendall Lavender, and Owen Williams. A team is only as good as its worst player and with the Explorers winning another Championship, Davis deserves a lot of credit.
When asked how it felt to be sharing the championship with his teammates, Davis said, “It just feels great. We put in the work every day, so to get this outcome is awesome. We were talking about this all week and this win was something we were pushing for, so it’s a big moment.”
Comets fans had packed the gymnasium for the Regional Final as cheers echoed throughout the school. But as the Explorers' lead grew, the cheers from the crowd shrunk. “It felt great!” said Davis after being asked how it felt to silence a full home crow. “I looked at Owen in the fourth quarter and I was like, ‘this feels good… this feels good.’ After all the hard work, this was awesome.”
Marquette’s Blue Crew may have been heavier for the girls’ basketball game, but that did not stop them from making a difference in the game," he added. "The fans that did show up brought the energy expected from Explorer supporters. The fans that showed up, really put their heart into it. We knew we would not have all the numbers because our girls are also playing right now. The ones that did show up were loud and did a lot for us.”
Explorer fans will always be a difference-maker but perhaps the biggest difference-maker of Marquette’s season is the senior star, Owen Williams. When asked about Owen Williams, Davis had nothing but praise for his captain after their championship win. “It’s great to get this for him. We play for him. He is our lone senior and leads us every day in practice, and we were doing this for him.”
Marquette Catholic advances to the first round of sectionals at the beginning of next week. Davis said the Explorers will need to continue their strong defensive play to keep winning.
“We have to keep targeting in the defensive end," he added. "Coach Medford stresses the importance of being one in the defensive end & I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”
Davis and the Explorers take on the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes in Flora, on Tuesday, March 1.
