Boys Basketball: Marmion grabs controls early in win over Green Wave

If you take away the first seven minutes of the game, St. Edward might have claimed a road victory over their conference foe Marmion on Friday night.

But those seven minutes hung over the Green Wave the rest of the game, as Marmion cruised to a 55-45 victory in Suburban Christian crossover action.

It was a bounceback win for the Cadets, who improved to 9-7 with the triumph. They lost a night earlier to intracity rival Aurora Christian.

“It was a good win for us, since you never want to sit on a loss too long,” said Marmion coach Ryan Paradise.

Although the game wasn’t completely decided in the first quarter, Marmion certainly grabbed control of the game with a dominant performance on the glass. Despite missing big men Pete Stefanski (sprained ankle) and Ryan Glasgow (official football trip), the Cadets outrebounded the undersized Green Wave 24-10 in the first half.

“Our team effort was there, but we just have to do a better job of keeping them off the offensive glass,” said St. Edward coach P.J. White. “Our size hurts us, but they (the Cadets) are a well-coached team and they know how to go after a team’s weakness.”

In a 14-0 run which opened up a 16-2 Cadet lead, Johnny Peters and A.J. Friedman each scored on putbacks. Marmion had five offensive rebounds in the first period, matching St. Edward’s total on both ends. A.J. Bohr (12 points, 10 in the first half) epitomized the way things were going for the Cadets by banking in a three-pointer to end the first-quarter streak.

But the Green Wave would not go away. Despite not getting a second-chance opportunity the entire first half, St. Edward forced Marmion into 11-of-31 shooting from the field (2 of 10 from behind the arc) and trailed 27-17 at the intermission. The Green Wave took care of the ball with only nine turnovers for the game.

St. Edward cut the lead to 27-21 early in the third period on baskets by Eddie O’Halloran (a putback) and Adrian Ponce. Then the Cadets established a healthy cushion, as a three-pointer by Alex Thiesen (12 points off the bench) helped expand the Marmion lead to 38-26 after three quarters.

The Green Wave’s last challenge came with just over two minutes remaining when they cut the lead to 47-40. But Thiesen hit a tough floater and four straight free throws to put the game on ice.

It was a balanced effort for Marmion, with Colin Kavanaugh joining Bohr and Thiesen in double figures with 10 points. Jeff Garofalo contributed eight points, including a four-point play in the final quarter, and Matt Smith added 7 points. On the boards, Friedman pulled down eight rebounds and Kavanaugh grabbed seven.

Paradise credited Friedman and Bohr for setting the tone with their aggressive rebounding early in the game.

In addition to not having an interior game offensively, the Green Wave took only one shot from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Marmion offset its tough shooting night with effective interior passing which led to a number of easy looks at the basket.

“We made an adjustment after not shooting well last night (against Aurora Christian’s zone),” said Paradise. “We got in the paint, and Colin is a great interior passer, and Matt did a good job as well. But I think it all started with A.J. Friedman attacking the paint.”

O’Halloran, a senior in his third year on the varsity, was a bright spot for St. Edward (5-10). He had a game-high 16 points on eight buckets, all but two on mid-range jumpers. Doug Johnson scored nine points and Troy Guidino had eight.

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