Marshall 84, N. Chicago 54

North Chicago's plan to maintain a frenetic pace with Marshall worked for 11 minutes.

But the Warhawks finally hit the wall in Tuesday night's Class 3A boys basketball supersectional at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

And Marshall (30-4) had a ball as it forced 31 turnovers and rolled to a 84-54 victory and its third straight trip to Peoria.

''We came out with a lot of intensity but we had way too many turnovers,'' said North Chicago coach Gerald ''King'' Coleman after giving up 30 points off miscues. ''You can't have 30 turnovers playing against a team like Marshall.''

The Commandos, who finished third in AA the last two years, will face downstate Washington (25-3) in Friday's semifinals.

''The third time is the charm,'' said first-year Marshall coach Courtney Hargrays of the goal of the school's first state title since 1960.

''Third place is good but first place is better,'' said senior Ryan Hare, whose 17 points led five Marshall players in double figures.

Junior Keith Ford scored 10 of his game-high 19 points and consecutive baskets by senior Kentrall Wilson (13 points) had North Chicago (26-5) ahead 21-19 in its third supersectional appearance and first since 1972.

A drive by sophomore Steven Conner got the Warhawks even at 27-27 with five minutes left in the half.

The first half I felt was a good pace,'' said Ford, who was 6-for-16 from the field. ''I guess we started getting a little lackadaisical.''

And Marshall took advantage with a 9-point run. Ford's drive 2:23 before halftime stopped the run but also started a 9:07 stretch where North Chicago got its next 6 points on free throws.

When Joshua Wright broke that drought with a layup with 1:16 left in the third North Chicago's deficit was 67-41.

Darius Smith and Andarius Simmons had 14 points apiece, Eriq Harris added 13 and Montric McKnight chipped in 10 as Marshall hit half of its 66 shots from the field.

''We're like a motorcycle ... once we get to sixth (gear), look out,'' Hargrays said.

But this was also a special ride for the Warhawks and Coleman, who played on the 1972 supersectional qualifier.

''We had a great season,'' Coleman said. ''I told the kids after the game they have nothing to hang their heads about. They accomplished so much.''

Class 4A

Evanston 50, Mt. Carmel 40: Mount Carmel didn't take a free ride to its first boys basketball supersectional berth since 1985.

But the Caravan didn't get many free looks from the field against Evanston's 3-2 zone in the Class 4A supersectional at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

And when the Caravan went to the free throw line, they were just 9-for-23 in a 50-40 loss Tuesday night before 5,135.

"We didn't play very well, especially in the second half," said Mount Carmel coach Mike Flaherty. "I thought we played hard but we weren't very efficient against their zone. We haven't seen a zone team in awhile. It was just a tough night."

Mount Carmel (22-10) which upset St. Ignatius, Farragut, DeLaSalle and Whitney Young to win a sectional title, shot just 30.4 percent (14-for-46) from the field and 3-for-17 on 3-pointers.

"It wasn't that difficult," Mount Carmel guard D.J. Cooper said of Evanston's zone. "Their trap gave us some trouble. This arena was a different shooting background than we're used to."

Mount Carmel shut out Evanston the first 6½ minutes of the second quarter and was tied 17-17 on a rebound basket by Desmond Young. But a 3-pointer by Sean Crogart-Key of Evanston eight seconds before halftime started a 12-0 run that put it in control.

"It was very important. Very important," Evanston coach Bobby Locke said of the 3-pointer before halftime. "Everyone pretty much had Mount Carmel going downstate. I was insulted."

Stephen Rudnicki led Evanston with 14 points and Crogart-Key added 10 points.

Mount Carmel missed 10 of its first 12 free throws and was unable to cut into the Wildkits' lead.

A 3-pointer by freshman Tracy Abrams (12 points) got Mount Carmel within 45-38 with 1:05 to play. But a free throw and breakaway layup by Crogart-Key sealed Evanston's first trip downstate since 2003.

"Unfortunately, I don't think you saw what we've been the last two weeks," Flaherty said. "We're a pretty good free throw shooting team, 65 to 70 percent, and the guys going there are pretty good free throw shooters. For whatever reason, it looked like the rims were a little tight and our shooters were real tight."