Baker’s start, Armour’s finish lead Serena over Marquette

SOMONAUK – For the Serena Huskers, it’s all about the balance, … but a whole lotta defense doesn’t hurt.

Carson Baker exploded for 13 points in the first quarter of the Somonauk Class 1A Regional championship game against Marquette to help his club take the lead, then the rest of the team helped maintain that edge with balance and a smothering defense.

Richie Armour finished with game-bests of 25 points and 14 rebounds, Tanner Faivre and Hunter Staton each added nine points and Beau Raikes seven. The Huskers forced 19 MA turnovers while avenging one of their few regular-season losses with an intense 67-57 victory over the Crusaders.

Marquette defeated then No. 8-ranked Serena 75-66 in double overtime Feb. 6, but the Huskers came through when it counted most.

Now winners of two straight regional championships after not having won a crown since 2007, Serena coach Dane Twait surprised longtime assistant coach Randy Goodbred by sending him to receive the title plaque. It was 18 years ago Friday night that Marquette scored at the buzzer to beat Goodbred’s Huskers for a regional title.

“When you go as a program that long without one, you realize that at a small public school you don’t get many chances at this,” Twait said. “I’m just so thankful for this group staying together and all the help these kids had along the way and all the support they had tonight. This is just a really special feeling.

“Tonight we defended a lot better than in the first one when we were coming off so many games in a row. Tonight, we made them work for everything they got, and that’s what it starts with.”

Serena will take a 30-3 record into their sectional opener at Elgin Harvest Christian against the host Lions at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Despite 24 points and a team-high nine boards from Denver Trainor and 13 points from Alec Novotney, Marquette’s season ends with a 24-9 record.

It was Huskers from the get-go, thanks to Baker hitting his first six shots from the field. His jumper and a 3 from Staton opened up a 20-10 advantage early in the second quarter and set the Cru playing catch-up all night.

“They were focusing on me, so having Carson get hot early really helped me relax tonight,” said Armour, who had 28 points and 12 rebounds in the first meeting. “I owe it all to the guys. When I’m open, they find me and when I’m not, they score. It’s all them. … We took a shot to the heart the first time, but we knew we were going to do it tonight.”

Five points by Carson Zellers and a 3 from Trainor at 1:19 of the third quarter got Marquette as close as four at 41-37, before Serena reeled off nine of the next 11 points. Again, the Crusaders closed to within 57-51 on a pair of Zellers free throws with just 2:58 to play.

However, MA had to foul to get the ball back, and the Huskers made 9 of 13 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

“The better team won tonight,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “Our guys really laid it on the line and I’m really proud of them, but you have to give Serena a bunch of credit. They had a good game plan. They sped us up, and we had some uncharacteristic turnovers, … but the reason they were uncharacteristic is that Serena did a helluva job. … Add that they have four good guards and Armour, who killed us the first time. They’re just so well-balanced.

“I told our kids at the beginning of the year that when you get knocked down, you get back up and keep fighting and they did that all season. They did a lot of good things this year.”