Marmion basketball team embraces break

It would be easy for someone to look at the final score of Marmion’s Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic semifinal game against Geneva and say the Cadets did not play well by any stretch.

A 55-28 defeat was not a pretty stat line, and neither was the 20 percent shooting from coach Joe Currie’s Cadets. But Marmion’s coach said it wasn’t a lack of effort of taking bad shots.

“We just didn’t make shots,” Currie said of the loss to the Vikings. “Credit and hats off to Geneva for making us think about our shots, but bottom line is you’re not going to win too many games shooting around 20 percent. It’s just not going to happen.”

Currie said he challenged his team to forget about both that result and the way it shot with another game looming for third place against West Chicago. The Cadets flipped a switch.

Mick Sullivan, an all-tournament team performer, led the Cadets to a 25-point first quarter and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in leading Marmion (8-6) to Wednesday’s 65-56 win – a result that finished closer than the game played out to be.

“The guys realized that there was still something to be salvaged from this tournament,” Currie said. “Third place was still on the line and the guys took that to heart. They made shots (Wednesday), and I’m proud of the way they have come to play with it being now four games in five days.”

Marmion finished 25 for 50 from the field, and held West Chicago to 19-of-69 shooting from the field, including a rough 7-for-41 effort from long range.

Currie also implemented something defensively that he felt made a difference. With the Cadets facing their aforementioned fourth game in five days, a usual man-to-man pressure attack turned into some zone play. It proved effective.

“The legs were just tired,” Currie said. “We like to get after people and pressure them all the time, but it was clear our legs were a bit tired. With the way Geneva shoots from the outside, we thought trying to play some zone (Tuesday) would probably not have been the best idea. (Wednesday), it worked out and the guys earned this finish.”

Hunter Weber added a team-high 18 points in the win Wednesday night, as well. Those tired Cadet legs will get a week’s rest before Marmion is back in action against Chicago Catholic League foe DePaul Prep on Jan. 8.