St. Edward still can't get over hump in SCC

Most basketball coaches talk about how the first few minutes of every half are extremely important.

In a place as difficult to play as St. Edward those few minutes mean even more.

Marmion stayed even in the first half Saturday night and increased a 3-point lead to 8 in the second half as the Cadets defeated the Green Wave, 65-53, in a Suburban Catholic Conference boys game in Elgin.

"The kids are starting to mature and starting to realize how crucial the first 5 minutes are," Marmion coach Rashon Burno said. "They stepped up today."

With the rowdy students nearly right on the court, St. Edward is as tough as any place to play in the Suburban Catholic Conference. The Cadets (8-7, 4-4) took an early lead and were tied 11-11 after 5 minutes after senior Tyler Smith scored 7 points in that span. Marmion increased the lead to 5, 18-13, after the opening quarter.

Sean Fichtel scored all 10 of the Cadets' points in the second quarter, going 5-for-6 from the field. The rest of the team was 0-for-6.

The Green Wave (6-12, 0-8) wasn't much better. Brett Manning's 3-pointer with 6 seconds left in the half was the only St. Edward field goal of the quarter, going 1-for-8. St. Edward did go 9-for-12 from the free-throw line to trail 28-25 at halftime.

"It a low-scoring game. We're not used to those kind of games," Green Wave coach Keith Chuipek said. "We were right in the game. We thought that if we kept the same pace and tempo it would go right down to the wire."

Fichtel's runner in the lane with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter capped an 8-2 run to give Marmion a 38-30 lead as the Cadets won the first 5 minutes of the second half.

The Green Wave trailed 41-35 heading to the fourth quarter, but never got closer than 4, 51-47, in the quarter. Marmion went 17-for-25 from the free-throw line in the final quarter.

The Cadets out-rebounded St. Edward 39-21.

"The first six or seven games we weren't a great rebounding team," Burno said. "So I really put an emphasis on being strong and going to get the boards. In a 32-minute game, the more rebounds you get the more shot attempts you get at the basket."

Fichtel finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Smith added 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Manning scored a game-high 20 points, 12 in the second half, for the Green Wave. Josh Dix added 10.