Boys Basketball: Marian Catholic no match for Edwardsville
By Pat Disabato pdisabato@southtownstar.com March 12, 2013 9:56PM
Marian Catholic's Tyler Ulis (3) gets a shot blocked by Edwardsville's Shawn Roundtree (24) and Drew Curtis (11) during their supersectional basketball game at Redbird Arena in Normal, IL Tuesday, March 12, 2013. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media
BOYS BASKETBALL
CLASS 3A SUPERSECTIONAL RESULTS
AT DEKALB (NIU)
Limestone 55, Wheaton St. Francis 50
AT HOFFMAN ESTATES
Orr 63, North Chicago 49
AT JOLIET CENTRAL
Morgan Park 77, Hillcrest 44
AT SPRINGFIELD
Cahokia 56, Chatham Glenwood 48
CLASS 4A SUPERSECTIONALS
AT CHICAGO STATE
Simeon 63, New Trier 54
AT DEKALB (NIU)
Stevenson 73, Rockford Boylan 67
AT HINSDALE CENTRAL
Proviso East 62, West Aurora 52
AT NORMAL (ILLINOIS STATE)
Edwardsville 68, Marian Catholic 49
CLASS 3A STATE SEMIFINALS
(all games at Carver Arena, Peoria)
Limestone vs. Morgan Park, 12:15 p.m. Friday
Orr vs. Cahokia, 2 p.m. Friday
Third place: 12:15 p.m. Saturday
Championship: 2 p.m. Saturday
CLASS 4A STATE SEMIFINALS
(all games at Carver Arena, Peoria)
Simeon vs. Proviso East,
6:30 p.m. Friday
Stevenson vs. Edwardsville,
8:15 p.m. Friday
Third place: 6:30 p.m. Saturday
Championship: 8:15 p.m. Saturday
Article Extras
Updated: April 14, 2013 6:27AM
NORMAL — A good first quarter Tuesday night by Marian Catholic in the Class 4A Normal Supersectional provided hope.
A poor second quarter proved fatal.
The reality, however, is that Marian Catholic lost to a better team, that being Edwardsville, 68-49, at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University.
At one point in the fourth quarter, the Tigers led by as many as 27 points.
Edwardsville (30-2) advances to play Stevenson at 8:15 p.m. Friday in a Class 4A semifinal at Peoria’s Carver Arena.
“We got our (butts) kicked,” said Marian Catholic coach Mike Taylor, whose team finished 29-4. “Their experience here showed. We got beat by a better team.”
The statistics validate Taylor’s assessment. Edwardsville converted 23-of-34 field goals to Marian’s 20-of-52, the Tigers were 5-of-10 from the three-point stripe while Marian was 0-of-11, and Edwardsville outrebounded the Spartans’ 31-16.
“They played good and we played terrible,” Marian Catholic point guard Tyler Ulis said. “We came out a little passive early.”
The game was tied at 11 after one quarter. Ki-Jana Crawford scored five of those points for the Spartans and Ulis four.
Edwardsville used a 10-0 run to end the second period and led 23-13 at the intermission. The Tigers then scored the first five points of the third quarter to extend their run to 15-0 and lead to 28-13.
Marian would get no closer than nine points in the second half, struggling mightily against the Tigers zone defense.
Edwardsville’s defense limited Marian to just two points — a short jumper by Ulis — in the second quarter.
“We got a little too impatient with what we wanted to do,” Taylor said. “We weren’t physical enough. At this point of the season you can’t depend on one person (Ulis).”
Ulis, who finished with a team-high 20 points, was the only Spartan to reach double digits in scoring. Crawford added nine and John Oliver and Kevin Phillips six each.
It was a far more accurate and polished Tigers squad than the one that lost 53-41 to Bloom in the Normal Supersectional a year ago. In that game, Edwardsville trailed 29-14 at halftime and finished a sickly 14-of-44 from the field.
That experience, though, appeared to have benefited Tre Harris, Shawn Roundtree, Drew Curtis and Garrett Covington, all returning starters, Tuesday.
Covington, a Western Illinois recruit, led all scorers with 25 points. Harris and Armon Fletcher registered 13 points apiece and Roundtree 10 points and six assists. Fletcher also pulled down nine rebounds.
“The experience here last season really helped us,” Covington said. “We got rattled last year. This year, we knew the floor, the gym and the rims. We were much more confident.”
Marian, which figures to have its starting lineup returning, could find itself in a similar position next season.
Covington was impressed with the Spartans, especially Ulis.
“He’s a really good player,” Covington said. “He can drive and shoot, and he can finish. They’re going to be tough next year.”
In a twist, Marian Catholic’s and Edwardsville’s previous loss came Jan. 25 — Marian 66-61 to St. Viator and Edwardsville 72-61 to Belleville East. In fact, both of the Tigers losses occurred to Belleville East, the first Dec. 4 by a 55-48 count.
