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ELMHURST – Timothy Christian had a problem early on in its Chicagoland Christian Conference game against St. Edward on Friday in Elmhurst.
That problem’s name was Matthew Morrice, and the Trojans stopped everyone in the first quarter except for him as he scored 12 of the Green Wave’s 13 points to give them a one-point lead.
But the Trojans had their own weapon in Marc Gamble, who wound up making more of a difference in a 62-49 victory.
Morrice’s 23 points proved nothing more than a footnote. Gamble scored 12 of his 19 points in a first half that featured the teams frequently exchanging the lead.
Although he could have had two more points in the half but for a missed dunk, he still was the pivotal player in the Trojans (4-4, 1-1) taking a 32-27 halftime lead.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle with missed shots and frequent turnovers. Although the Green Wave (5-4, 1-1) outscored their hosts, 9-7, in the frame, Gamble made a key layup in the final minute that gave the Trojans a 39-36 advantage.
Timothy Christian took control in the fourth quarter, quickly building its lead to seven and forcing St. Edward to call a timeout. The Green Wave stayed within striking distance but never regained the lead from the first half.
“(We) pulled away from our game plan a little bit in the second half,” said St. Edward coach Adam Webb. “And our turnovers went in the wrong direction in the second half.”
The nail in the coffin was a Charlie Crichton 3-pointer that put the Trojans up by 10. He scored all 11 of his points in the second half after picking up two first-quarter fouls that forced him to the bench early on.
“We did a pretty good job of moving the ball,” said Timothy Christian coach Scott Plaisier. “We were able to find some guys open and screen the ball a little bit better in the second half and then move the ball a little bit better. And then, we were able to create some disturbance on the defensive side that led to some transition buckets, which is good.”
Gamble had one piece of unfinished business in the game’s last minute. He went up for another dunk, and this time, he slammed it home.
“I just didn’t wanna miss it because I can’t really be missing those dunks early on,” Gamble said with a laugh. “That’s kind of the one thing that was going through my mind: Just don’t miss it.”
Rich Parsons scored nine points for the Trojans, and eight came from Adam Roland off the bench. St. Edward stayed in the game during the fourth thanks to Morrice scoring eight of his points, including six free throws.
It also got a field goal from Ben Pfeiffer, who had 13 points overall, and the second of two second-half 3-pointers from Cooper Pisarski.
“We really wanted this one,” said Morrice. “And it’s gonna hurt us. But we’re gonna come out firing next game. We gotta use it as energy and feel for the next game, and we’re gonna use it in practice for sure tomorrow morning.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20241213/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-gamble-pays-off-in-timothy-christians-victory-over-st-edward/