Steeleville built up a 22-point lead but then had to hold off a late rally to secure a 62-50 win over Marissa-Coulterville Monday night in the opening round of the Trico 1A Regional.
“We played really well early and took control of the game,” said Steeleville coach Gerald Mumbower. “We gave them (Marissa) a lot of trouble with our trap out of our zone defense. Our good defense early set the tone for the game and we came up with a lot of steals which we turned into easy points.”
The Warriors forced Marissa-Coulterville into six turnovers in the opening quarter as they ran out to a 15-6 lead. All five Steeleville starters scored in the first quarter with Nick Potter leading the way with five points and Coire Reel with four.
Steeleville began the second quarter with a 7-0 scoring run to push its advantage up to 16 points, 22-6. The Warriors would lead by as much as 17 points before the Meteors found some offensive rhythm and went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 12 points, 29-17, with a number of chances to cut the lead even further.
However, Marissa-Coulterville couldn’t get the big play and Steeleville ended the first half with an 8-2 run for a 37-19 lead at the break.
Nick Potter and Andrew Pokrzywinski provided all of Steeleville’s offense in the quarter as they each had 11 points. Potter nailed three three-pointers in the period and four in the first half of play. Dave Parkinson had five points to lead Marissa-Coulterville.
“Nick really got us off to a great start,” added Mumbower. “When he can knock down the long shots, it just adds another dimension to our team. Andrew and him really carried us early and put us in a good position to win the game.”
Steeleville used a 7-1 run early in the third quarter to push its lead to 22 points, 42-20, but the tide starting turning in the other direction as the Warriors had a hard time protecting the ball.
Steeleville turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter and the Meteors took advantage by going on an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to 13 points, 43-30 late in the frame.
Torrey Gerberding nailed a three-pointer right before the quarter expired as Steeleville led 46-30 heading into the fourth.
Marissa-Coulterville used balanced scoring to get back into the game, as six different Meteors scored in the third quarter. Parkinson led the charge with four points.
A 10-1 scoring run by Marissa-Coulterville cut the lead to seven points with just over five minutes to play.
Just as the momentum seemed to be switching over to Marissa-Coulterville, Pokrzywinski was able to take the ball to the hoop, score on a layup and hit the bonus free throw to push Steeleville’s lead back up to 10 points.
Pokrzywinski was 9-of-9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as he helped hold off the Meteors the rest of the way for the 12-point win.
“We got up big in the third quarter, but we didn’t take care of the basketball,” said Mumbower. “I told the team that we have this win, if we can take care of the ball. That just didn’t happen. Give Marissa credit, they never gave up and they battled all the way. Andrew came up big for us in the fourth quarter. His three-point play was huge in terms of momentum and he was a perfect 13-of-13 from the foul line in the game.”
Pokrzywinski finished with a game high 26 points, while Potter added 19 in the win.
Mike Lloyd led Marissa-Coulterville with 12, while Parkinson added 11.
With the win, Steeleville advanced to the regional semifinals where the team took on the top seed Trico Pioneers.
In other opening round action Okawville cruised past Valmeyer 72-49 and New Athens held off Elverado 59-47 Tuesday night.
