Backcourt play leads ACC past Marmion
Aurora Central Catholic was not over concerned after scoring a lone field goal against archrival Marmion in the opening quarter of the teams' playoff game Wednesday night.
"It's a 32-minute game," ACC star guard Joey Guth said.
The Chargers missed 7 of their 8 first-quarter field goal attempts against the Cadets, but few things else went wrong in the second semifinal of the Aurora Central Catholic Class 3A basketball regional.
ACC changed the momentum with its pressure defense in the second quarter, took the lead at the break by a slim margin and withstood the Cadets' second-half attack behind its dazzling guard play to win 64-49 in Aurora.
Aurora Central (16-11), the third seed, returns to the championship game for the third year in a row by ending the second-seeded Cadets' season at 17-10.
By avenging a regular-season shootout loss to its city rivals, Aurora Central earned a date against a familiar foe: Oswego, which defeated the Chargers last year in the regional final en route to the state-championship game, a defeat against Champaign Centennial.
Marmion, behind the solid opening play of star Mark Peters, bolted to a 10-3 lead after the first quarter, but Steve Hollon had the perfect antidote for what ailed the Chargers' first-quarter offense.
The point guard engineered a 20-point second-quarter outburst by Aurora Central with penetrating moves around the basket.
The senior would go on to lead both teams with 19 points, and his overall floor play, combined with 16 points from backcourt mate Guth, enabled the Chargers to gain the upper hand.
"Steve was the best player on the court, offensively and defensively," Aurora Central coach Nate Drye said. "He controlled the entire tempo. Steve was terrific. We just didn't make any shots in the first quarter. Once a few shots went in, it changed the entire complexion of the game."
Kent Brauweiler had a tip-in to conclude a 15-2 Aurora Central run that reversed the Chargers' early deficit and turned it into a 6-point cushion.
In a game were substitutions were as infrequent as the standing room only crowd was delirious, Aurora Central took a 23-21 lead into the intermission when sophomore reserve Paul Kaminski found the range from 3-land.
Hollon then had his fingerprints all over the Chargers' second-half that combined near-flawless play with equally masterful execution.
The team would commit a mere quartet of turnovers while converting their final 14 free throws to turn a game that was constantly swaying between one and two possessions into a comfortable margin.
Hollon had 7 of his game-high points in the third quarter; Ryan Herrald, who would have backbreaking 3-point possessions in each of the final two quarters, followed a Hollon 3-pointer with a 3-point play to give Aurora Central a 35-26 lead midway through the third quarter.
"We started off in a hole," Hollon said of the first quarter. "I was concerned (foul trouble) was going to be a replay of last time (when he fouled out)." Tyler Hlavac drained five 3-pointers to lead Marmion with 17 points; Peters closed out his career with 16.
"We had too many turnovers," Marmion coach Rashon Burno said. "Anytime you turn the ball, that's a recipe for defeat."