MONTROSE CHRISTIAN
EXPERIENCES FIRST LOSS
2011-2012 season
WRITTEN BY-Steve Gamel
Marcus Smart scored 13 points on Thursday and the Marcus boys’ basketball team held Montrose Christian School to just two points in the final four minutes, 58 seconds of regulation to win 42-40.The game -- which was televised live on ESPN at Lewisville High School -- featured two of the top teams in the nation. Montrose, out of Maryland, is the No. 4 team in the latest ESPN POWERADE FAB 50 Rankings. The Marauders (14-1) are ranked 11th in the same poll, but are No. 1 in Maxpreps.com’s Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings. “We beat one of the best teams in the nation tonight, and it was on a night where we weren’t doing a good job knocking our shots down,” Marcus head coach Danny Henderson said. “I liked our shot selection all night, we just weren’t getting them to fall.”Marcus was chomping at the bit to face another national powerhouse. Back on Dec. 3, the team lost by eight points to Las Vegas’ Findlay Prep -- snapping what was the second-longest winning streak in the nation at 41 games. But after taking a 13-11 lead early in the second quarter, they watched as Montrose went on a 9-0 run. A.J. Luckey kept Marcus in the game with seven of the team’s 11 points in that quarter, but they still trailed 20-19 heading into the second half.
That’s when Marcus’ offense opened up.Phil Forte, who scored just three points in the first half and was 1-for-4 during that stretch from behind the three-point line, drilled two long-range three pointers in the second half. The second came with 4:58 left in the game and gave the Marauders a 39-38 lead. He finished with nine points.Montrose regained the lead on its next possession, but Nick Banyard -- who scored four points in the first half and finished with 11 -- nailed a three with 1:08 left to give Marcus a two-point cushion. Montrose had two attempts at tying the game in the final 22 seconds, but failed.
Smart scored eight of his 13 points in the second half, all of which came on an 11-7 run late in the third quarter that leaked into the fourth. The run erased what was a 31-28 Montrose lead late in the third. Both teams played excellent defense all evening. In fact, the largest lead in the second half was a mere three points (by Montrose) and only four players from each team accounted for the scoring. There were also 16 lead changes in the second half.
The latest win makes Marcus 4-1 this season against nationally-ranked opponents, with the lone loss coming to Findlay Prep. Their wins are over DeSoto, 4A favorite Houston Yates, North Carolina's Upper Room Christian Academy and Montrose.
“After the game against Findlay Prep, we couldn’t wait to get back out here and prove we can still compete with the rest of the nation,” Smart said. “That loss changed the way we play.”
That’s when Marcus’ offense opened up.Phil Forte, who scored just three points in the first half and was 1-for-4 during that stretch from behind the three-point line, drilled two long-range three pointers in the second half. The second came with 4:58 left in the game and gave the Marauders a 39-38 lead. He finished with nine points.Montrose regained the lead on its next possession, but Nick Banyard -- who scored four points in the first half and finished with 11 -- nailed a three with 1:08 left to give Marcus a two-point cushion. Montrose had two attempts at tying the game in the final 22 seconds, but failed.
Smart scored eight of his 13 points in the second half, all of which came on an 11-7 run late in the third quarter that leaked into the fourth. The run erased what was a 31-28 Montrose lead late in the third. Both teams played excellent defense all evening. In fact, the largest lead in the second half was a mere three points (by Montrose) and only four players from each team accounted for the scoring. There were also 16 lead changes in the second half.
The latest win makes Marcus 4-1 this season against nationally-ranked opponents, with the lone loss coming to Findlay Prep. Their wins are over DeSoto, 4A favorite Houston Yates, North Carolina's Upper Room Christian Academy and Montrose.
“After the game against Findlay Prep, we couldn’t wait to get back out here and prove we can still compete with the rest of the nation,” Smart said. “That loss changed the way we play.”
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