LAFAYETTE, Indiana — Marquette senior Gary Lewis had no intention of abandoning belief in the teammates he calls his “brothers.”
Even as the Blazers trailed Southwood by as many as 13 points late in the third quarter on Saturday night, the 6-foot guard didn’t give up hope.
“It’s like no other,” Lewis said when asked about the bond among the players. “It’s like no other team in the tournament, period. We have a bond that’s so strong.
“We stay together as a team. That’s why before we go out, we say ‘family,’ because we really are a family.”
More Top Picks Best Chest Freezers
Lewis played a key role in the Blazers’ comeback bid in the championship game of the Class 1A Lafayette Jefferson Semistate as they rallied to get within a point before losing 64-56.
Lewis connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in 25 seconds in the fourth quarter to draw Marquette (21-8) to 56-53 with 1:12 left. After Southwood (15-12) made the first of two free throws, senior guard Adam Tarnow hit a 3-pointer to bring the Blazers to 57-56 with 46 seconds to go.
But Southwood made the second of two free throws to make it 58-56, and Marquette then committed a turnover with 31.5 seconds left. Southwood pulled away in the closing seconds.
“One of our star players fouled out, so I knew somebody had to step up and come down and make plays to get our energy back and give ourselves a chance to win the game,” Lewis said. “That was the only thing that went through my head. … Somebody had to do it, and I feel like I was suited to do it in that moment.
“We’re a family, and we know how to stay together, and we know how to play together. We never put our heads down because you never know what can happen.”
Lewis was referring to senior guard/forward Lukas Balling, who had eight points and 12 rebounds but fouled out with 1:53 left. Adam Tarnow also fouled out with 39.6 seconds left, and senior guard/forward Connor Bakota, who had 10 points, followed with 27.1 seconds left.
Marquette coach Ray Tarnow subbed en masse with 8.2 seconds left.
“The resolve,” Ray Tarnow said. “These kids, they’re dawgs, man. … They have heart. They have heart. I’ll give them that. I’m really proud of them.
“I’m sad it’s over, obviously. But they’ve achieved a lot. They’ve achieved a lot. I love them.”
Senior guard/forward Jason Kobe, who scored 24 points, wasn’t at all surprised by the Blazers’ spirit.
“We kept pushing,” Kobe said. “We never thought we were completely out of it until the horn rang. … We were able to fight back. We just weren’t able to get over the top of them and bring it home.
“We don’t want it to be our last game. We’re not going to lose by 20, OK? We had to bring it close. It’s hard not to keep your composure. We all wanted to go that extra step to state. We were just a little bit short.”
Indeed, the Blazers, who won their first sectional title since 2019 and first regional title since 2017, didn’t waver about their ambition to reach the state championship game. They were 5-7 after a loss to Class 2A semistate participant 21st Century on Jan. 14 but reeled off 16 straight victories, beating Kouts in the semistate semifinals earlier Saturday.
Lewis said it was a matter of “learning how to mesh together,” allowing Marquette to gain momentum.
“We wanted to make it to state,” Kobe said. “We had a great season. … We continued to fight through the first part of the season. We never took our eyes off the goal. We were just a couple of points short of making it there.
“It’s disappointing, but you can’t be too disappointed. We had a great season.”
Marquette’s roster lists nine seniors, including all five starters. The Blazers had been building toward this season.
“We all grew together,” Kobe said. “We’ve been playing since freshman year all the way to our senior year. We really have bonds. It’s really a family now.
“Four years ago, maybe the first year there were a couple of groups — kids from Valpo, kids from Portage. But now there’s not that anymore. We’re all one. Being able to grow together, it’s amazing.”
This team also is special to Ray Tarnow.
More Top Picks Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation What It Is And Who Needs It
“This is my first group as a varsity coach,” he said. “They just came along with me. I learned a lot from them. They were saying, ‘Thank you, coach.’ No, thank you.”