Ali Tharwani’s big shots rally Marmion past Morris at Plano Christmas Classic

PLANO – Ali Tharwani won’t back down from taking shots with the game on the line.

The Marmion junior knows his teammates and coaches have his back. He also believes in himself, so if the opportunity comes his way, he’s going to fire away.

Tharwani knocked down a couple of huge 3-pointers in the final two minutes of Monday’s first-round game against Morris in the 61st annual Plano Christmas Classic as the Cadets rallied for a 55-52 victory.

“It’s like the ball is in your hands, the game is on the line so you got to make a play,” Tharwani said. “Coaches trust me, my teammates trust me. I trust myself, so I got to do what I can do to score.”

The Cadets weren’t targeting Tharwani, but they certainly found him when they needed him most.

“I just passed it and cut straight through,” Tharwani said. “I got the ball and saw wide open shots and just let it go. It was fun. We felt we were all connected and had energy. We played defense. It was all there.”

Morris (6-3) led 50-46 with 1:54 remaining after senior Brett Bounds scored on a drive down the lane.

Tharwani’s 3-pointer the other way made it 50-49.

After Morris turned the ball over, the Cadets got the ball to Tharwani again and once again he knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Cadets a 52-50 lead with 1:01 left.

“They started stretching us out in the 1-3-1 and were attacking gaps too easily,” Morris coach Joe Blumberg said. “We went man and got lost and gave them a couple wide open looks late, and give that kid [Tharwani] credit for knocking down shots.”

Marmion (5-6) entered the game 0-3 in games decided by nine points or less, and the Cadets were just 1-4 in their previous five games.

“We’ve played a lot of really good teams this year and been right there in the fourth quarter,” Marmion coach Joe Piekarz said. “We haven’t been able to get over the hump and today we did.”

Tharwani scored on a drive with 33 seconds left to increase Marmion’s lead to 54-50, but Morris senior Jack Wheeler answered with a layup to make it 54-52 with 23 seconds left.

Wheeler, who wears No. 23, had a monstrous afternoon with 22 points and 20 rebounds, but he wouldn’t shoot the ball again.

Marmion senior Mac Moore missed two free throws with 19.7 seconds left, but Morris rushed and missed a shot on the other end.

Tharwani then split two free throws which allowed Morris one final shot at tying the game, but Colin Pfeifer’s lone shot of the game from deep beyond the 3-point arc was off target.

Morris outshot and won the rebound battle against Marmion but committed 10 more turnovers than the Cadets.

Marmion shot just 36% (20 of 55) from the field compared to Morris, which made 52% of its field goals (22 of 42). Morris out rebounded Marmion, 32-25.

Morris was just 6 of 14 from the free-throw line. Marmion was 4 of 10.

“I thought we gave away too many points at the free throw line,” Blumberg said. “We didn’t execute, honestly, our last two possessions with a forced panic shot and a turnover. Obviously, we’d like to have those back, but it’s a tough, tough loss.”

Tharwani led the Cadets with 20 points, Moore had 11, Dave Malley had 9, and Caden Anderson had six points, six rebounds and five assists.

“This is absolutely a huge win for us,” Anderson said. “The way the season has been going I feel like we’re progressing every day and getting closer and closer. We finally got over the hump today.”