Marist junior Morgan Taylor missed four weeks with a broken right wrist.
Most players might show some rust after such a long layoff.
But the 6-foot-2 Taylor appeared in midseason form Tuesday against T.F. South.
In his second game back since suffering the injury, Taylor poured in a game-high 21 points to lead Marist to a 57-48 win over the host Rebels in a Class 4A T.F. South Regional semifinal.
Maurice Commander added 16 points and David Daniels had 14 for the RedHawks.
J’Quan Black and Tyvon Gaitors contributed 11 points each for the Rebels (17-11).
Marist (26-3) will play fourth-seeded T.F. North (23-3), an 81-40 winner Tuesday over Bremen, at 7 p.m. Friday for the regional championship.
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Taylor acknowledged he’s not yet completely healthy.
“I feel like I’m close to being 100-percent,” Taylor said. “I just went out and played. I felt a lot better (Tuesday) than I did my first game back (Feb. 22).”
The RedHawks looked to be in serious trouble after the Rebels cut a 47-40 deficit to 47-46 on baskets by Bron Hill and Nate Sanders with 2:40 to go in the game.
That’s when Taylor stepped up.
He first split a pair of free throws to give Marist a 48-46 advantage.
On T.F. South’s ensuing possession, Taylor came up with a steal and subsequently was fouled.
He hit both free throws with 2:05 to go to increase the RedHawks lead to 50-46.
T.F. South never recovered.
“When they cut the lead to one, we just had to stay calm,” Taylor said. “Some teams get rattled. We had to make sure to be ourselves.”
Marist wasn’t itself for much of the game, and much of the credit for that goes to upset-minded T.F. South (17-11).
The Rebels trailed 25-22 at the half despite not having 6-6 Myles Cephas for nine minutes after he sustained a bloody mouth during a collision in the paint.
Marist coach Gene Nolan was impressed by the Rebels, who posted 13 offensive rebounds.
“That is a very good 12th seed,” Nolan said. “They’re athletic and they play hard. But I’m proud of the guys. When they cut it to 47-46, we were able to make a run.”
Commander had a tough night shooting the ball. But his 3-pointer from the right corner helped the RedHawks open up a 45-40 advantage.
The dynamic junior never hesitated after receiving a pass from Justin Brown.
“I knew I was struggling early,” Commander said. “If I’m not making shots, I’m going to keep shooting. They’re eventually going to fall.”
In the first semifinal, T.F. North raced out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back in downing Bremen. Nate Jones paced the Meteors with 13 points, Jadacus Dixon had 12 and Kelton Auston added 10.
Qushawn Wells paced Bremen (6-21) with 17 points.
Twitter @disabato