Boys Basketball: Marmion’s historic run ends with supersectional loss to Metamora

OTTAWA – As the Marmion huddle broke for one final time, a fan-made sign flashed directly across the Cadets’ bench.

“The job is not finished” it read.

Metamora, however, ensured a second consecutive trip to the state semifinals after its 60-48 victory over Marmion in the Class 3A Ottawa Supersectional on Monday.

Marmion, which until March 4 hadn’t won a sectional final since 1976, could leave knowing the building blocks to finish the job – a state title of its own – were in place.

“We talked in the locker room. We talked that we didn’t get to our ultimate goal – which everybody’s ultimate goal is to make a state championship – but this team did something that probably no other high school could say,” Marmion coach Joe Piekarz said. “That is completely [flipping] a culture of basketball.”

From 2016 through 2021, Marmion won a combined 31 games. In two years under Piekarz – along with the growth of a nucleus led by Collin Wainscott, Jabe Haith and Trevon Roots – the Cadets have won 38 games.

This season, the Cadets had a second-place finish at the Plano Christmas tournament and finished with a 23-12 record and regional and sectional plaques.

Marmion hadn’t won 20 games in a season in 47 years until this season.

“Coming into this, there was zero [outside] expectations ever for Marmion basketball,” Piekarz said. “Not only did they flip it, they flipped it in a hurry and they turned into now where we’re playing in the Elite Eight and competing with the No. 1 team in the state to go downstate. It stings now. It hurts now. But they’re going to look back and they’re going to realize they did something much more than most teams can ever say they’ve done for their school.”

Metamora (31-2) entered Monday’s game on a 30-game winning streak. Marmion shook off a first-quarter 12-point deficit to make it a five-point game at halftime. Wainscott’s 3-pointer with 4:33 left in the third quarter tied it at 30, and the Cadets trailed only 37-34 entering the final eight minutes.

Haith opened the final frame with a steal and layup, but it was countered by Tyson Swanson’s 3-pointer. Cadets guard Jacob Piceno responded with a tough jumper to pull Marmion to within 40-38 with 6:55 left, but the Redbirds ripped off a quick 6-0 run and later ballooned their lead to 10 with 1:45 left to keep the Cadets out of reach of potential glory in Champaign.

Swanson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Metamora. Drew Tucker had 12 points, Tyler Mason had 11 points and Ethan Kizer had 10 points for the Redbirds.

“To see us go back-to-back down to Champaign is pretty special,” Redbirds coach Danny Grieves said. “Last year, it was the first time in what, 90 years? So you take a look at this squad. They’ve got 62 wins in two years. That’s pretty good. We’ve got a 30-[game] win streak. What I love about those guys is they just keep persevering through any kind of adversity. That’s been the key.”

Wainscott, who achieved more than 1,000 points in his varsity career, finished the game with 20 points and two rebounds.

“I think we took a big step in the program and all the hard work we put in. It stinks to go out like this,” Wainscott said. “We put a lot of work into the season and Metamora is a great team. We worked our butts off against them, so credit to them. They’re a good team.”

Roots had eight points and eight rebounds. Piceno had five points.

Haith, a Lewis commit, was at Elgin Academy as a freshman. His sophomore year, he sat out the pandemic-shortened season and transferred to Marmion for his next two years of varsity basketball.

The experience of his senior season – and being a pillar of a team that reached 20-plus wins – “means the world.”

“To come to this team, it helped me grow,” said Haith, who finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. “It helped [teach me] what it means to be a leader, what it means to be a teammate, what it means to be a man. I couldn’t have asked for a better run. I found out what it taught me was it’s bigger than me.

“At first, it was for the team. Then, it was for our school. Then, it was for Aurora at one point. It got so big, it got to Aurora. That’s what it was for, so it taught me it was bigger than myself.”