Jake Esp was doing the damage inside for Marmion and keeping the Cadets close.
But Marmion couldn’t solve Belvidere’s 2-3 zone in the second half and fell to the Bucs 60-43 in the second semi-final game at the 86th annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Tournament in Dekalb on Thursday night.
Belvidere will face Hinsdale South for the championship on Friday night.
“Jake started off on fire,’’ Marmion coach Ryan Paradise said. “He was finding the mismatches on the inside.’’
Esp scored 10 first-half points and kept the Cadets (4-7) within striking distance by doing so. Marmion trailed by six points at half and were poised to pull off the upset with a strong second half. The Bucs (10-2) tried face-guarding Esp in the second quarter and when that strategy didn’t work, they switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half.
“I was looking for the ball and taking advantage of the mismatches that I had,’’ Esp said. “When they switched to the 2-3 zone, we should’ve attacked more.’’
Marmion instead passed the ball around the perimeter and settled for long jump shots with no offensive rebounds in the third quarter while shooting 25% from the field. Belvidere contrasted that by shooting over 70% in the same quarter while outscoring Marmion 23-6 to put the game away with a 48-32 lead.
“We played good ball for about a quarter and a half and spots of the fourth quarter,’’ Paradise said. “We were just hesitant on offense. Give their defense credit but they didn’t have to do much. We did not attack the gaps.’’
Esp was the only Cadet to finish in double figures with 19 points.
Joe Byers led Belvidere with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Colton Bahling finished with 13 and Maurice Jackson scored 12 for the Bucs. Belvidere outrebounded Marmion 45-25 for the game.
