Marshall, the Tribune`s No. 9-ranked team, stripped Austin of everything but its uniforms in a 93-40 romp Thursday at the East Aurora Tournament.
The Commandoes (8-1) had 32 steals and forced 37 turnovers in the tournament opener. In one stretch over the last 5:08 of the first quarter, Marshall`s press forced seven turnovers in a 16-0 run that gave the Commandos a 24-4 lead. Cesare Christian and Quadell Kimble had eight points each and Courtney Hargrays six in the first-quarter barrage.
Marshall coach Luther Bedford still wasn`t impressed.
”A game like this isn`t going to help us,” said Bedford, whose team got 19 points each from Christian and Kimble and 14 points and seven steals from Hargrays. ”They were outmanned. Early in the game we played some great defense. We played with intensity. But after that . . .”
Charles Branscomb led Austin (0-9) with nine points.
In the second game, Steve Smith, a 6-foot-3-inch senior forward, led Downers Grove North (7-3) past Benet Academy (3-5) 57-47. Smith had 19 points, including eight in a 14-5 run over the first 5:19 of the third quarter as the Trojans expanded a five-point halftime lead to a comfortable 41-27 advantage. In the third game of the day, Naperville North (7-2) defeated Rockford East 67-47 behind 17 points from Dave Groharing, 14 from Bob Born and 12 from Omari Minnicks. Naperville used an 18-0 run in the third quarter to break open the game, going from a 32-27 lead to a 50-27 lead over a 4 1/2-minute span. Shannone Moss had 10 points for Rockford (1-8).
Tony Talley scored 18 points to lead East Aurora (7-2) past Glenbard East 79-39 in the other game. Derrick Jackson led Glenbard East (1-8) with 15 points.