Upset bug bites Marmion at Hinckley

It was one of those nights for the Marmion basketball team.

The Cadets endured a 12-minute drought from the field in the opening half, and Hinckley-Big Rock used the Marmion dry spell to take a lead it would never relinquish in its 57-49 nonconference victory Tuesday night in Hinckley.

It was not for a lack of quality looks, either.

"We had so many point-blank shots at the baskets," Marmion coach Rashon Burno said.

Marmion even had 9 offensive rebounds during the stretch, but the Cadets could not translate any of them into second-chance points.

When Sean Fichtel finally broke the spell with a driving field goal five minutes into the second quarter, the last of the six Cadets' leads was vanquished for good.

The Cadets' junior guard had 4 field goals in the opening half, but Marmion as a team missed 19 of its other 20 attempts.

The low-scoring first half ended with the Royals leading 20-17 at the break, but the teams' offenses were revived by the intermission.

Unfortunately for Marmion, the squad would not have an answer for Hinckley guard Ryan Salazar.

The Royals' junior scored 20 of his game-high 22 points after halftime, and Hinckley-Big Rock (10-8) would fashion a series of 9-point leads during the third quarter.

"Ryan Salazar, he plays with such heart and intensity," Hinckley coach Bill Sambrookes said. "He just never lets up."

The teams nearly matched their entire first-half offensive output in the third quarter alone, and Marmion received a spark from guard David Brouch in the second half.

Brouch was the sixth man of the Marmion bench, but he had three 3-point plays, including a pair of field goals from beyond the arc.

Brouch followed a Robin Reder 3-pointer with the first of his two 3-point plays to slice the Royals' lead to 36-33, and Marmion's deficit stood at four entering the fourth quarter.

Brian Michaels' 3-point run gave Hinckley a 43-36 lead early, but Fichtel, who led Marmion with 21 points, concluded a 5-point Marmion burst with one of his many slashing scores.

But the Royals' resolve never folded.

Over the course of the next six-plus minutes, Marmion reduced its deficit to a one-possession game with the ball on two occasions.

The first ended in a turnover, and the second, with the team behind 47-44, floundered on a missed 3-pointer.

"A tough loss," said Burno. "We didn't show our poise in the second half. My kids always compete."

Manny Juarez added 12 points for Marmion, which also received game-high totals of 11 rebounds and 4 blocks from Tyler Smith.