Leyden senior guard Marcos Herrera’s game might not have been on par with Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic’s recent 6-for-6 performance from three-point range, but his six three-pointers were nonetheless impressive in the Eagles’ 69-44 win over Montini to open the Glenbard West tournament.
“I try and make all my shots from three whenever I can,” Herrera said. “I try and get the open looks and I work at it.” He went 6-for-10 and all but one of his shots was from outside.
“He [Herrera] is a good shooter. He can really make those shots,” Eagles coach Bill Heisler said, adding that Herrera has made at least six threes in a game three times this season.
In the championship game on Saturday, Herrera buried eight three-pointers and finished with 27 points to pace Leyden (10-5) past Willowbrook 64-53.
Against Montini, Herrera got the Eagles started with a quick three-pointer on their opening possession, but didn’t get many touches for the next three quarters. The Broncos used a box-in-one defense to limit his touches and open looks. He managed a three-pointer late in the second quarter, but was otherwise kept in check until the fourth.
That’s when Herrera cut loose and sank a pair of three in the opening minute and two more on back to-back possessions midway through the quarter. He credited his teammates for their assists.
“I was telling my teammates to set some more back screens for me to open it up,” Herrera said.
Herrera’s solid perimeter play can also be seen on defense. The 5-10 guard was consistent in stopping the Broncos’ guards from penetrating or getting the ball inside to their forwards. On the few occasions when they did, Herrera and the other Eagles like senior forward Adam Braxton make sure their shots were contested.
“We try not to get pointless fouls,” Braxton said. “We’re always being told to keep our hands up and be smart on defense.”
The Eagles’ perimeter shooting is one of their strengths. They made 12 three-pointers against the Broncos with six different players contributing.
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“With our team, if somebody’s struggling, we need someone to step up and we did a pretty good job of that tonight,” Heisler said.