HINSDALE CENTRAL HOLIDAY CLASSIC

HC SQUARED:  Building a New Tradition of Basketball at Its Best
 

2019 GAME 15 MARIAN CATHOLIC 57, SAINT RITA 49

Box Score

HINSDALE, Ill. – Marian Catholic used a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to topple Saint Rita 57-49 and advance to the semifinals of the 2019 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic.

The game was back-and-forth to start as the first quarter featured four lead changes and one tie. Saint Rita (8-5) led 11-9 after the first eight minutes were in the book. Saint Rita opened up a five-point edge at 14-9 early in the second quarter, but Marian Catholic (10-2) answered back with a 9-0 run to move in front 18-14, but Saint Rita finished the half on a 10-6 run to pull even at 24-24. The lead changed hands six times and there were two ties in the opening 16 minutes.

Trailing by two (31-29) with 5:30 remaining in the third, Marian Catholic closed the quarter on a 15-4 run to open up a nine-point lead (44-35) after three quarters. St. Rita took advantage of eight offensive rebounds in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to ignite a 10-0 run and move in 45-44 halfway through the fourth quarter. The Spartans answered back by scoring the next nine points to reclaim the lead at 53-45 with less than a minute remaining. The Mustangs cut the deficit down to six points but came no closer as Marian Catholic closed out the contest 57-49.

Saint Rita outshot Marian Catholic 41.7 percent (20-of-48) to 38.8 percent (19-of-49) but Marian Catholic turned 14 Saint Rita turnovers into 15 points. The Spartans also cashed in 14 offensive rebounds for 24 second-chance points.

Joe Green led the Spartans with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Ahron Ulis and Elijah Jones added 11 points apiece for the Spartans.

Kevin Murney shot 8-of-12 from the floor to score a game-high 19 points while also collecting a game-high seven rebounds to lead Saint Rita in the loss. Connor Serven added 11 points for the Mustangs.

Marian Catholic will face the winner of the DePaul Prep/Westinghouse contest in tomorrow’s second semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Saint Rita will face the loser of the DePaul Prep/Westinghouse matchup in the fifth-place bracket at 5:15 p.m.