St. Edward gets its point across
St. Edward got the point and got a win in its home opener.
Using a recently installed defense called the point - a Dean Smith-taught hybrid of a 2-3 matchup zone that has "about 17 principles," according to St. Edward coach Keith Chuipek - the Green Wave stifled the Marian Central offense throughout a 62-48 Suburban Catholic Conference victory in Elgin Friday.
The shifting pressure frustrated the Hurricanes (3-5, 1-2), who normally do their damage from the perimeter. But within the confines of St. Edward's cozy gymnasium against the point, Marian shot just 27.4 percent from the field (17 of 62), including a 4-of-30 showing from behind the 3-point arc.
"Sometimes it looks like a 1-3-1, sometimes like a 2-3 zone, and sometimes like a box-and-one, depending on where they play their post," Chuipek said of the scheme. "We ran it for the first time last week against Aurora Central until they got in transition.
"(Marian) is quicker than us, more athletic than us, so I thought we had to make them beat us from the outside and not let their young sophomore (6-foot-6 forward Ben Krol) get off because he's going to be a very good ballplayer someday. I don't think they shot very well from three until a couple went down at the end, so I think it worked out for us."
Krol was held to 6 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out late. He was held in check in the post by a combination of defenders: Steve Martin, Jim Waclawik and Zach Von Ahnen.
Offensively, the Green Wave sank 7-of-16 attempts from 3-point range, paced by five 3-pointers from senior Riley Coleman, who finished with a game-high 21 points. Martin added 17 points, including 7 free throws in the fourth quarter as the Wave protected a 10-point lead by sinking 16-of-21 from the line.
"The last couple of games we've been shooting for a pretty good percentage," Coleman said. "Tonight we shot a lot better, played a lot harder on defense, we were getting on the boards and everything just came together."
St. Edward (4-3, 1-2) never trailed. The Green Wave led 14-11 after a quarter, thanks to 3-pointers by Coleman and Martin and 2 second-chance baskets by senior Jim Waclawik, who finished with 6 points and 12 rebounds.
The Hurricanes made only 2 shots in the second quarter but were able to stay within 24-19 at the half after forcing 7 St. Edward turnovers in the period.
The Canes pulled within 24-22 at the start of the third quarter when Andy Stochl sank a 3-pointer, but Coleman answered with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 8 points for the first time.
The Wave led by 10 points going to the fourth quarter and Marian couldn't play catch-up due to 6-of-24 shooting in the final eight minutes.
"You're just not going to win a game shooting 20-some percent," Marian Central coach Curtis Price said. "They came out pretty hot and we got stagnant in that zone. Being in this small gym we couldn't spread out, so I think it was a good strategy by their coach to come out in that zone."
The SCC win put St. Edward far ahead of last season, when the Green Wave didn't win a conference game until Jan. 20 in their 10th attempt.
"It really helps to get that first conference win and not wait until after Christmas like we did last year," Martin said.