Montini surprises Marmion
On the eve of the biggest football game of the season, it seemed only fitting that Montini’s basketball team enjoyed its own Super Bowl Saturday night in Aurora.
Juniors James Miller (10 points) and Tyshawn Johnson (10 points) combined to hit 7 of 8 free throws over the final 2 minutes to help lead the Broncos to their first conference victory in two years – a 56-53 Suburban Christian Blue road triumph over Marmion (10-11, 4-4).
“It’s a great moment for our program,” said Montini coach Brian Opoka. “It’s our first conference win in two years. This was a special moment for every one of my boys.”
When you’ve lost 15 consecutive conference games dating back to the 2008-09 campaign, any kind of win is a special moment.
“This is our biggest win of the year,” admitted Opoka, whose team is now 5-13 overall, 1-7 in the Suburban Christian Blue. “We were 0-8 in conference last year and we lost by an average of 20-plus points per game.”
Montini, which trailed 27-24 at halftime, outscored the Cadets 22-14 in the third quarter with a true team effort that included 6 points each from Packey Barrett (12 points) and Johnson, and 5 points apiece from Richard Bodee (12 points) and Miller.
Johnson’s floating jumper in the paint with 3:05 left in the third quarter put the Broncos on top for good at 37-36. Miller and Bodee kept the momentum going with a 3-pointer and three-point play, respectively, in the last 2-plus minutes of the period.
But it was the Broncos’ poise down the stretch that sealed the decision.
“As bad things started to happen, we were more poised and we took care of the basketball,” said Opoka. “It was all about growing. We’re maturing. We are young but we’re definitely going forward.”
After committing 9 first-half turnovers, the Broncos made only 3 second-half miscues with the basketball.
“We had a bunch of days off this week so I think we were really relaxed coming into this game,” said Miller. “We’ve been trying for so long (for a conference win) and now it feels good to actually get one.”
Barrett connected on 4 of 5 3-point shots while spearheading the Broncos’ 28-14 bench support.
“Packey looked really good tonight,” said Opoka. “He had opportunities to get open and he hit his shots.”
Mark Berdelle led Marmion with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Eddy Grahovec scored 10 of his 13 points in the first quarter.
“Defensively, we always seemed to be a step late,” said Marmion coach Ryan Paradise. “Even when we had a small lead in the first half, they kept plugging away and they didn’t take any possessions off.
“I thought out shot selection was very poor tonight,” added Paradise. “We’re inconsistent just like any other team that is around .500. When you win one and you lose one, you don’t know what’s coming the next game.”