As Martin Schiele continued his barrage of 3-pointers, Griffith’s student section serenaded him with a chant of “Marty! Marty! Marty!”
The adulation was well deserved.
The Panthers beat Northwestern 61-35 in the semifinals of Saturday’s Class 3A Kankakee Valley Regional, with Schiele setting the tone.
The senior guard scored the first 10 points in a little more than three minutes. He completed a 4-point play, and added two more 3-pointers.
“I felt amazing in warmups,” Schiele said. “Every shot in warmups was falling. I have to follow through with my shot. Every time I follow through, my shot goes in.
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“Coach told me to shoot the ball with confidence, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Coach Gary Hayes prepared Griffith for Northwestern’s zone. Hayes wanted to find Schiele early by having him cut to the rim, then run back to the perimeter for open looks.
Schiele led the Panthers (24-3) with 17 points, including four of their nine 3-pointers. Such a performance against the Tigers (10-13) didn’t surprise classmate Anthony Murphy.
“He can shoot,” Murphy said. “Every day, he stays after practice working on his jump shot. I respect that.”
Murphy scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Griffith continued its propensity to wear down opponents with its pressure.
“Coach wants their legs out from under them in the third and fourth quarter,” said Murphy, who posted a double-double with 10 rebounds. “That’s when we have to step it up.”
Tremell Murphy had 10 points, all coming in the final three quarters after Schiele’s outburst. The senior has been bothered by a sore right ankle after he turned it in the Panthers’ sectional championship win against Hammond.
But it didn’t prevent Murphy from throwing down two thunderous dunks in transition off feeds from his twin brother Anthony.
Kelston Haden provided Griffith with key minutes off the bench, particularly after Schiele was called for his second foul with 2:36 left in the first quarter. Haden added seven points.
Seeking to repeat, Griffith played Mishawaka Marian in Saturday night’s regional championship. The Knights (22-4) rallied for a 55-51 win over Twin Lakes in the first semifinal.
The Panthers made sure not to overlook Northwestern, which won its first sectional title since 2008 and entered the regional with a sub-.500 mark.
“They’re a very well-coached team,” Hayes said. “They use the bounce pass really well, they pass out of traps and run a diagonal cutter. That’s part of breaking pressure. So I don’t worry about somebody’s record. I watch the way they play on film; they’re very well coached and play very well.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff