Fenwick continues Tosh Tournament roll by topping Lake Zurich

YORK – When Fenwick won York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Classic for the only time in 1995 one of its stars was a sophomore and future 14-year NBA veteran Corey Maggette.

Now Bolingbrook and guard Davion Thompson, one of the top sophomores in the country, are the final obstacle in the path of another Tosh title for the Friars at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Elmhurst.

First Fenwick (13-2) had to get past an upset-minded Lake Zurich (6-7) team 50-37 that was looking to continue its surprising run in Monday night’s second semifinal. Michigan-bound football standout Nate Marshall had 22 points and three 3-pointers and the Friars used a couple of big runs to finally break away.

“I said to their coach (David Fergerson) are you sure he didn’t want to go to Michigan at the semester,” LZ coach Terry Coughlin joked after the 6-foot-5 Marshall shot 7-for-9 from the field.

“We expected this and coach Ferg prepares us for every game the same,” Marshall said of reaching the title game. “Bolingbrook is a great team but we’re always worried about ourselves and playing Friar basketball.”

LZ, which plays Metamora for third at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, led 16-12 on a rebound basket by Adrian Riep with 3:24 left in the first half. But 4 of the Bears’ 15 turnovers came in an 11-0 run that bridged halftime and put Fenwick up 23-16.

“In the first half we got sped up when they went on their run,” said LZ senior Kain Kretschmar, who had team highs of 14 points and 8 rebounds. “We had to control ourselves and play our game. Once we started making shots we were dialed in and we went from there.”

Kretschmar and Connor Strauss (12 points) got LZ within 26-23 with the ball midway through the third. But Marshall, who is a star defensive end, stripped the ball on a drive and to start a 16-4 run for a 42-27 lead with 5:50 to play. Marshall had a pair of 3s — including one off-balance that beat the shot clock.

“He made his shots,” Kretschmar said.“We felt in the second half we started to pick it up and get more stops,” Marshall said. “We were pushing it in transition more and defense leads to offense. It was my best game of the year.”

Ty Macariola added 9 points for Fenwick.