It took second-ranked Marshall just eight minutes to erase any doubt about the outcome of Wednesday’s Public League Red West game at Farragut.
The Commandos erased just about everything else No. 11 Farragut put up during their 71-61 victory to clinch at least a share of the conference title with one game remaining.
Behind a tenacious defense that blocked 12 shots and a well-balanced offense that had four players score in double figures, Marshall (23-3, 10-1) jumped out to a 10-point first-quarter lead and never gave Farragut (15-8, 5-6) a glimpse of hope after that.
“The game was lost in the first quarter,” said Farragut coach William Nelson, whose team never got within 10 points after the 5-minute-30-second mark of the second quarter. “They played good defense and we could never make a run at them.”
Marshall, which will win the Red West outright if it beats Crane on Friday, was led by Kelly Whitney’s 22 points. The 6-foot-8-inch Michigan-bound center also grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots. Justin Bowen tallied 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, four of which came in the second quarter that helped the Commandos surge to a 41-26 lead.
Ronald Davis, who finished with 12 points, set the tone of the game by hitting three three-pointers in the first quarter as Marshall closed out the period on an 11-2 run to mount a 23-13 advantage. Point guard Andre Goodwin added eight of his 14 points in the third quarter.
“It was a total team effort,” Marshall coach Al Williams said. “Right now, all individual accolades are out the window. We’re playing Marshall basketball now.”
Elliott Poole paced Farragut with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
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Sean Duncan.
Downers Grove North 63, Glenbard West 53: Matt Formato hit five three-pointers to finish with 25 points and Eric Allen added 22 points to pace the No. 6 Trojans (22-2, 9-1) in the West Suburban Silver. Dan Doyle’s 22 points led Glenbard West (13-9, 4-6).
Young 67, Westinghouse 60: Ronald Howard netted 21 points and Marcus White pitched in with 18 to lead 10th-ranked Young (13-9, 10-2) in the Public Red West. Nate Harrington and Chris Hill scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, to aid the winning cause.
“The kids are just playing good basketball now, there’s no other way to describe it,” Young coach Lamont Bryant said. “I’m just happy we’re focusing at the right time. I’d rather be 12-14 and hot going into the playoffs than have a great record and be on a downswing.”
Berron Hill led Westinghouse (12-13, 4-7) with 23 points off the bench.
Crane 84, Curie 76: Crane watched a 22-point lead disappear, but rode the hot fourth-quarter hand of guard Will Bynum to subdue Curie in the Public Red West.
The No. 12 Cougars (18-7, 5-6) opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run to take their largest lead, 57-35. But Bynum was forced to the bench seconds later with his fourth foul. Curie (16-10, 3-8) responded with a 17-1 run, closing within 58-52 following two free throws by Rome Sanders (21 points and 12 rebounds).
With Bynum on the bench to start the fourth quarter, the Condors continued to narrow the lead, pulling within 63-59 on a Jimmy Gunn three-pointer with six minutes remaining. Bynum re-entered the game and sparked the Cougars with five straight pointsto push the lead back to nine. Bynum scored nine of his team-high 20 points in the final quarter.
“We definitely lost some of our intensity, especially defensively, once we got the big lead,” Crane coach Anthony Longstreet said. “We thought the game was over. After Will went to the bench, we had a lot of guys become tentative, playing afraid to lose.”
Morgan Park 73, Julian 64: Quinnel Brown scored a game-high 28 points and O’Neal Carter helped out with 13 points and five steals to give the No. 13 Mustangs (18-6, 9-2) the edge in the Public Red South.
Anton Palmer’s 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks led Julian (17-9, 8-4), which held a 64-61 lead with 1:48 remaining when Brown hit a jumper to spark a 12-0 Morgan Park run. Brown finished with five points in the run and Charlie Hawkins hit a key three-pointer with 1:03 left to seal the win.
“We just knew it was going to be a tight game,” Morgan Park coach Herb Ray said. “We needed to pick up our intensity in the fourth quarter and we did that. Charlie [Hawkins] hit a huge three-pointer, now its down to Friday’s game.”
Morgan Park will host Simeon on Friday to determine the Red South champion.
Thornton Fractional North 69, Marian Catholic 59: Brad Hatfield scored 18 points to help the No. 17 Meteors (19-4) erase a five-point third-quarter deficit and earn the non-conference win. Cedrick Middleton’s 18 points led Marian (16-7).
Austin 75, Flower 66: Michael Edwards had 26 points to spark Austin (14-8, 8-3) in the Public Blue West.
Calumet 69, Jones 65: Tyres Herron’s 27 points and George Jones’ 25 lifted Calumet (16-10, 11-0) in the Public Green South-West.
Lane Tech 68, Morton 65 (OT): Marcus Smith scored 18 points as Lane (15-13) prevailed.
Simeon 76, Chicago Vocational 57: The Wolverines (15-8, 9-2) used a 28-1 third-quarter run and Albert Hethington’s 19 points for the Public Red South win. Darnell Coleman scored 17 points and RashawnWalker had 15 in Simeon’s sixth win in seven games.
“Before the season started I knew we had talent, but everybody had their own agenda,” Simeon coach Bob Hambric said. “Now these guys are working as a team instead of as individuals.”
Antonio Stamps’ 21 points led Vocational (13-11, 3-8).