AURORA — The preacher with a trusting congregation can do some beautiful things.
Eaglecrest coach John Olander gave his Raptors a sermon on shot selection before Tuesday’s Class 5A nonleague game against Aurora Central, and his players took heed.
“We played real smart tonight,” Raptors guard Andre Marquez said. “We knew when to attack; we knew when to settle it down when we had the lead. We worked it around (and) we were real patient tonight.”
Marquez was the speedometer and drove holes through the Trojans en route to a comfortable 53-37 victory in the Lee Rosa Holiday Tournament. Marquez scored a game-high 17 points, Reggie Lewis scored 14 and center Jesse Hall held sway over the paint for the Raptors (3-4).
Marquez attacked the Trojans’ zone defense and kept the ball moving when the hosts switched to man. The Raptors dictated the tempo, pushing for transition points when the opportunities arose or running their half-court set.
For Olander, it was a welcome progression for a team retooling at most positions.
“We’ve had some good quarters, we’ve had some bad quarters,” he said. “What we’re trying to achieve is that — controlling the tempo, controlling what we’re doing. Not just running up and down and taking bad shots.”
For the Trojans (4-2) and coach Ian Calvert, it was frustrating and a stark contrast. The Trojans were unable to get the Raptors out of their 2-3 zone, mainly because they couldn’t shoot from outside, and seldom swung the ball fast enough to open up or find any holes.
The Trojans shot 2-for-12 from 3-point range, struggled with their dribble penetration, shot a frigid 11-for-26 from the free-throw line and never got center DeSe Lee going inside.
Additionally, for Calvert, his squad didn’t match Eaglecrest’s intensity.
“You have to want to rebound, you have to want make your free throws, want to make layups, want to make the extra passes, want, want, want to do all these things,” he said. “We just didn’t want the game. There was no want in our bodies.”
Joseph Abrams scored 13 points and Lee had 11 points and eight rebounds, but got most of his offense from second chances with Hall contesting him everytime he thought about getting position down low.
Hall had eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
“He rebounded well tonight,” Olander said of Hall. “He defended (Lee); he made him work. He moved well from side to side.”
Eaglecrest 13 14 10 16 — 53
Aurora Central 9 10 9 9 — 37
Eaglecrest — Lewis 5 2-2 14, Marquez 6 5-5 17, Haviland 3 1-2 7, Hall 3 2-4 8, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Udvari 1 1-2 3, Houcks 0 0-0 0, Banks 1 0-0 2, Dernocoeur 0 0-0 0, Sotelo 0 0-0 0, Bonsor 1 0-0 2, Green 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-15 53.
Aurora Central — Abrams 5 3-6 13, Banks 1 1-2 3, Lee 3 5-10 11, Hurst 0 0-0 0, McCullough 0 0-4 0, Sanders 1 0-0 2, Burnett 1 0-0 3, Russell 0 0-0 0, Fernandez 1 2-2 5, Verdine 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 11-26 37.
3-point goals — Lewis 2; Burnett, Fernandez. Total fouls — Eaglecrest 19, Aurora Central 14. Fouled out — None. Technicals — Banks.
