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Thursday Night Thriller
In their own version of the famous St. Louis Blues’ “Monday Night Miracle”, the Mustangs tonight pulled off a victory that just wasn’t supposed to happen. In cardiac fashion reminiscent of the glory days of the John Redden/Cory Roper-led teams of the mid-90s, Marquette came from way back after three quarters to pull off an improbable 53-50 win at Francis Howell.
 The opening minutes of the game were innocent enough. After a two-shot trip that featured two lay-up attempts gone astray, the Mustangs settled for no points and soon trailed it 2-0 as the Vikings worked the ball into the lane for the game’s opening hoop. A nice take to the bucket from the right wing from Ky McKeon opened the game’s scoring for the visitors and tied the game at 2-2. That would mark the last tie the game would see for the next 30 minutes. Howell had their shooting eyes in place early. A three-pointer and several easy inside buckets later, the lead had ballooned to 13-4. Only late deuces by McKeon and Chad Haley would keep the game within reach at 15-8 after the first period. Haley, it turned out, was just getting started. The 6-1 senior guard was a model of consistency for the evening in an otherwise barren Mustang offense. Chad nailed his first trey of the game late in the second quarter to keep his team within shouting distance. Failure to get back on defense and a Viking team nailing their outside shots when Marquette was able to trail the play quickly and take away the bucket led to a second quarter stalemate. Howell hit on three long-distance shots to match the Mustangs nine points and the teams entered the locker rooms with the home squad up 24-17. Positives were few and far between but the Mustangs came out for the third quarter armed with the knowledge that they had reduced their turnovers from a whopping six in the opening period to a paltry two in the second. And, with several of Howell’s guards hitting at a clip not seen at the same consistency over the entire season….Marquette felt itself fortunate trailing by only the seven points. That fortunate feeling quickly turned to empty wishes early in the third. While Marquette would maintain a decent game in the ballhandling department (four turnovers in the third), the bucket had closed its lid. Good shots were plentiful but accuracy was not. Marquette shot a measly 0/7 in the quarter from inside the arc. Only two more Haley treys and 2/4 free throw shooting kept the game within shouting distance. By the time Howell had converted with under ten seconds to play, the gap had widened to what seemed like an insurmountable 39-25. With their field goal percentage hovering around 33% (10/28) for the contest to this point in the game, the Mustangs could be excused if the evening was chalked up to the category of “it just wasn’t our night”. Things have a way of changing and to the surprise of almost everyone in the gym, this game changed in a BIG way…. The quarter started positively enough with senior Will Jones stepping into the game and hitting on a turnaround jumper. Also checking in with Will at the late stages of the third quarter was junior Garrett Sneed. The 5-11 guard followed up Will’s shot with a long three-pointer from the left wing. The two substitutes didn’t stop there. Will would go on to hit on another inside move and go 3/3 from the free throw line in the big fourth quarter. Sneed, while short in stature, was huge for his team when it counted. Garrett grabbed two defensive boards in heavy traffic and keyed a Mustang break where he outhustled two Vikings to a ball at midcourt while batting the ball forward to a teammate who was able to convert at the free throw line after a subsequent Howell foul. The Mustangs methodically chipped away at the Howell lead that had reached upwards of 16 points late in the previous quarter. An Adrien Grossheim mid-range jumper cut the lead to seven and the game was on at just under 5:00 to go. A lone Mustang turnover on a miscommunicated pass broke up what was an amazing run of offense for the previously-mentioned impotent Mustang attack. By game’s end, Marquette had scored on 12 of 14 fourth quarter possessions. The stage was set with just under 2:00 to play for a fantastic finish. With the lead changing hands due to the free throw prowess of Jones going 2/2 from the line, Howell brought the ball up trailing for the first time in the game. The Vikings were able to work it to their great junior forward, Cody Sorenson. Sorenson missed on an attempt with two Mustangs defending but grabbed his own board and converted to give the lead back to his team. A composed Marquette squad brought the ball back only to miss on a good look from the right wing. Sorenson rebounded and was quickly fouled. Sorenson nailed two more clutch free throws and the lead was back up to three. Marquette again came down the floor in need of heroics. The Mustangs' chief offensive source, Haley, struck again (Chad hit on 5/6 three pointers for the game and scored at least two field goals in each quarter including a two-pointer with two treys and 2/2 free throws in the fourth to finish with a career-high 25 points). With around 40 seconds left, Chad pulled up from 24 feet out above the head of the key and barely rippled the net to tie the contest. Howell countered with a good look but Andy Rosburg pulled the board down. Andy went 1/2 from the line and the Vikings again had another chance to take the lead. A Rosburg block (he had a career-high five on the evening) stemmed the tide and the loose ball ended up in Andy’s hands and he was instantly fouled. The 2/2 result from the line left Howell with a last-ditch try with less than four ticks remaining. A good look from 25 feet out on the left wing went off the rim and the improbable victory was Marquette’s as the result of winning the fourth quarter by a margin of 28-11. The win goes down as the team’s seventh in a row and ninth in ten games. Next up will be a re-match with Eureka at the EHS campus. The Mustangs will be looking to avenge a disappointing loss back in the Meramec Holiday Classic. Tip-off at Eureka on Tuesday, January 29 is set for 7pm. Leading Scorers: Chad Haley-25, Will Jones-8, Andy Rosburg-7. Leading Rebounders: Rosburg-4, D’Angelo Wood-4. Leading Assists: Haley-3, 3 tied with 2. HARD HAT AWARD WINNER: Will Jones. For complete stats-click HERE
Posted by: marquettemustangs
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