 |   |  | Home • | Schools • | Sports |  | | Help | |
| ||
BLANK ELEMENT | ||
Fourth Quarter Collapse Ends in Defeat at Eureka
The Wildcats of Eureka are in the midst of what has been one of their most successful seasons going back a few years. Just going by that, they measure up on any team’s schedule as a game marked as a tough one to be sure. However, unfortunately for Marquette, lady luck hasn’t been on their side when it comes to matching up with the Wildcats. In the teams’ first game back at the Meramec Holiday Classic, the Mustangs went to battle without leading scorer and rebounder Andy Rosburg (ankle injury). Fine play by Eureka was key in a 58-41 win for the Wildcats that afternoon. Tonight, the Mustangs bused to Eureka without two key cogs in second leading scorer Chad Haley (flu) and defensive stopper and point guard D’Angelo Wood (out 2-3 weeks with an ankle sprain). MHS hung tough for three quarters, in fact leading heading into the fourth, but outstanding Wildcat shooting and a total breakdown by the Mustang ballhandlers resulted in another ‘Cat win over Marquette, this time by a 52-42 count.
A trey on the first possession off an offensive board would set the scene for the evening for Eureka. Marquette was able to answer though with a traditional three-point play by Andy Rosburg and the score was tied. Senior Ky McKeon gave his team the lead with a nice hook in the paint and the Mustangs led it 5-3. That lead stretched out to 10-6 after Rosburg again converted a hoop and harm and McKeon duplicated his earlier post move. The Wildcats though were proving why they’re a tough team to guard. With the Mustangs taking away the inside lanes, Eureka went to work from the perimeter. Five three-pointers splashed home for the home team in the quarter alone. Even without the aforementioned starters, Marquette was more than holding their own. McKeon nailed a short jumper and he was followed up by the same from Chris Rosehill. Matt Cox went the length of the floor off the dribble to convert and by the time junior Garrett Sneed hit from 20 feet out in the right corner, MHS led it 21-16. A late trey by the Wildcats ended what was an offensively explosive quarter with Marquette up 21-19. The fireworks abruptly fizzled from that point. Little did anyone in the crowd who had braved the elements (a 50+ degree drop in temperature in West St. Louis County earlier in the day) know that the Mustangs had officially scored half of their total output in the first eight minutes of play. Rosburg hit from his post position to put his team up by four to start the quarter and then the offense died out. Three turnovers in the period combined with 2/8 shooting gave the Mustangs a meager seven point quarter. The Wildcats fared little better though they were able to hit on two more long-distance shots and by the time the trip to the locker rooms had commenced, Eureka led it 27-26. Marquette started strong in the third. Rosburg hit off a great feed from the corner by McKeon. Andy followed that up with a short jumper. About a minute later, Eric Phillips converted on a couple of free throws and a driving lay-in to put the Mustangs up 34-28 and confidence began to seep into the depleted Mustang squad. From that point (around the 4:00 mark of the third quarter) on though, the offensive collapse swallowed whole the Mustang squad. Marquette committed four turnovers to end the third and was only able to put up three more shots. Even with that, MHS led it 36-34 heading into the fourth. Six more turnovers in the final quarter led to great looks for Eureka from the field. The Wildcats hit on two more threes to go along with 6/8 free throw shooting to put away a game-but-not-good-enough Mustang team. The final 52-42 score belied the closeness of the game but more telling was the field goal tallies for the teams. While the free throws were fairly even (7/9 for MHS compared to 12/15 for Eureka), Eureka made 15 field goals on the night, but TEN of those were from beyond the arc. The 17 shots made for the Mustangs included only a single long-distance conversion. Coupling those shooting stats with the uncharacteristically-high 17 turnovers for Marquette and the foundation for the ten-point Eureka win had been laid. Next up for the Mustangs is a long-awaited return to Suburban West play. Friday night’s (February 1) game will be played at Mehlville beginning at 7pm. Leading Scorers: Andy Rosburg-14, Ky McKeon-8, Eric Phillips-8. Leading Rebounders: Rosburg-9, Chris Rosehill-4. Leading Assists: Rosehill-6. For complete stats-click HERE
Posted by: marquettemustangs
 Email |
 Print
Avg. Rating: (0/10 | 0 Votes)  | ||
BLANK ELEMENT | ||
iHigh is an official partner of these organizations:
| ||
