No. 10 Marquette able to hold off Culver upset bid
BOURBON — Some might have been tempted to check out early at Triton High School Saturday as 10th-ranked Marquette Catholic looked masterful early on, but had to hold off a furious Culver rally to take a 49-41 win in the high school boys basketball Class 1A Sectional 50 championship game.
The Blazers jumped to a dominating 10-0 lead shortly after the opening tip, but with 2:35 to play in the first period, the Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run that had Marquette back on its heels and leading by just three headed to the second.
“We were up against it athletically and depthwise,” said Culver head coach Kyle Evans. “It took us a good four minutes to get used to their athleticism, their speed and their ability. Once we had that we played a great game. It started off 10-0 and we lose an eight-point game. That was the difference.”
The second quarter was close to a carbon copy with Marquette again dominating the game and running the lead back up to 11. Culver would have none of it. By halftime, they trailed by just four.
Every time the Blazers would push to a double-digit lead Culver would claw it back to a one-possession game. A swarming Culver defense was enough to keep Marquette from any real comfort.
“I think we annoyed them enough that they were a little frantic at the end and I appreciate that from our guys,” said Evans. “I think if we rebound a little bit better on a few possessions and if the officials allowed us to shoot any free throws as opposed to the 20 for them it might have made a difference. Maybe we are just too physical. It’s frustrating. It just didn’t go in our favor tonight.”
Culver did not shoot a single free throw during the game. Marquette was 14-for-19 from the line. Another related factor was Culver starters Oliver Morgan and Joey Pizur struggled with foul trouble most of the night, both fouling out with over four minutes to play.
The Culver senior class was at the forefront of the Cavs upset bid with Shane Shuman scoring six with three rebounds in the fourth quarter. Ethan Keller was the sparkplug in key Culver runs and Emiliano Ortiz had four points with a pair of rebounds and steals in the fourth quarter. Pizur, Morgan, Shuman, Keller, and Ortiz played their last game in a Culver uniform.
“They were part of a group when I came in that had won one game (their freshman year),” said Evans. “They were the group that dedicated themselves. They never missed anything in three years so
I knew they had a chance. Were they the most skilled? No. Are they the most athletic? No, but because of the time they put in they allowed themselves to compete in a game like this with a team like this.”
Culver ends the year at 12-13.
• MARQUETTE 49, CULVER 41
Class 1A Sectional 50 championship
At Triton HS
Culver 7 16 26 41 Marquette 10 24 36 49 Culver (41) — Hite 2 0-0 5, Keller 3 0-0 7, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Pizur 2 0-0 4, Ortiz 5 0-0 12, J. Mccuen 1 0-0 3, Shuman 5 0-0 10. Totals 18 0-0 41.
Marquette (49) — Lewis 1 0-0 3, Balling 7 9-11 24, Bakota 1 0-1 2, Tarnów 0 0-0 0, Kobe 7 5-7 20. Totals 16 14-19 49.
3 Pt. FG — Culver 5-15 (Ortiz 2), Marquette 3-12 (Lewis, Balling, Kobe).
Rebounds — Culver 17 (Ortiz 4), Marquette 35 (Balling 12). Assists — Culver 7 (Keller 4), Marquette 7 (Kobe 3). Turnovers — Culver 14, Marquette
13.