Freddy Hassan, Kaneland come back twice against Marmion

MAPLE PARK – The Kaneland boys basketball team had to battle back from nine points down early.

Then after taking the lead, the Knights had to battle back again, this time from 13 down.

But behind 12 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and two steals from Freddy Hassan, the Knights held off Marmion for a 57-49 win on Saturday.

“If we’re down we can always come back,” Hassan said. “We can’t give up even if we’re down. We were down double digits in the second half.”

Marmion (3-4) raced out to a 12-3 lead, but Kaneland (5-1) took a 16-15 lead with 1:19 left in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Hassan.

But the Cadets responded with a 16-2 run, going up 31-18 on one of David Malley’s four 3s in the game.

The Knights closed the first half with a putback dunk by Jeffrey Hassan to cut the lead to 11 at the break.

Kaneland scored the first 11 of the second half to tie things up, although Marmion went up 37-36 with 2:00 left in the third after Malley’s final 3-pointer of the game.

The game was tied at 42 after a layup by Marmion’s Matthew Murray with 5:18 left. Kaneland took the lead back on a putback by Freddy Hassan with 2:31 left and never trailed again.

“It was not easy,” Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said. “Credit to our guys. They just kept battling, and we just kept talking about what we were trying to do and staying together as a team.”

Marmion coach Joe Piekarz said he was proud of the way the Cadets played. Earlier Saturday, the team was at a funeral for sophomore classmate Ty Tolentino, who died on Dec. 1.

“We played with incredible heart and effort,” Piekarz said. “We’ve been through a lot. ... These kids were at a funeral earlier today, and for them to come out here and just show pride and effort and heart like they did, they showed me all I need to see tonight.”

He said the fight was evident in the team Saturday.

“We know how talented Kaneland is as a team. So we knew especially on the road we were going to have to fight. And we did. I can’t say enough about the character my kids have.”

Caden Anderson scored 21 for Marmion to lead all scorers. Malley had 12 and Murray 10 for the Cadets.

Marshawn Cocroft led the Knights with 14 points. Jeffrey Hassan finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Luke Reinert had eight points for Kaneland with a couple of key plays in big moments. He blocked a 3-pointer early in the second quarter during a stretch in which Marmion was not missing a lot of 3s - they were 7 for 12 from long range in the first half. He hit two 3s during the Knights’ 11-0 run to start the third quarter.

And with the Knights up eight in the closing seconds, Marmion rolled the ball on the floor to try to save some time, but Reinert came flying in and deflected the ball off a Marmion player.

Reinert has worked his way into the starting lineup as a senior after being a rotational player for two years, and Colombe said it’s evident why.

“I think what you’re seeing is he’s matured and become a leader,” Colombe said. “He’s doing the things you expect out of seniors. His basketball IQ, you saw that on the play where he dives on the floor. Just a smart, heads-up player. And he’s had some big games. He’s averaging double digits.”

Kaneland finished with a 41-19 edge on the boards, helping the Knights overcome 20 turnovers in the game.

The Knights opened Interstate 8 play Friday with a win at Ottawa less than 24 hours before facing Marmion. They’re 5-1 this year as they head back into conference play Wednesday against Sycamore.

“It’s like a family,” Freddy Hassan said about what’s been working for the Knights so far. “We know what we’re thinking on the court. We know what we’re going to do next on defense. It helps a lot. We talk a lot, but we don’t need to a lot of the time because we already know what we’re going to do.”