Boys Basketball: Raef Goodbred answers the call, hits big shots to help Marmion turn away St. Charles East

ST. CHARLES – Raef Goodbred knows when his number is called, it’s often for one reason – a 3-pointer.

Constantly practicing to perfect his craft, Goodbred got his name called for the first time in Tuesday night’s game at St. Charles East midway through the third quarter.

With the Cadets lead at just five, Goodbred knocked down his only two shot attempts of the night – both from behind the arc – to give Marmion the boost it needed to pull away for a 67-59 victory over the Saints in non-conference play.

[ Photos: Marmion vs. St. Charles East boys basketball ]

“We always ask for guys to do their part,” Marmion coach Joe Piekarz said. “Raef is a really good shooter. He came in cold, having not taken a shot all night… We put our shooter in there against a defense allowing us some looks from [3-point range], he did his job and that was a huge momentum swing for us tonight.

“He is always in the gym working on his shot. He knows what he’s good at and continues to work on it. To step up like that is huge, especially for a kid that puts in the work. I’m truly just very proud of him tonight.”

Goodbred’s 3-pointers, paired with a basket from teammate Trevon Roots, gave Marmion (8-8) an 11-point advantage after St. Charles East had cut the Cadets’ lead to just three on a basket and the foul from Steven Call at the 5:21 mark of the third quarter.

Goodbred, a junior guard, openly admitted he isn’t sure if, when or how much he’s going to play on a given night, but tries to stay as ready as possible for when his name is called.

“Coach came up to me a said ‘Go make a 3 for us’,” Goodbred said. “I knew that’s what I needed to do to help the team. I’m always confident in my shot. I know I’m a good shooter so whenever I get in the game, I’m confident that I can knock down a shot if I have the opportunity.”

Despite the big momentum swing from Goodbred’s shots, the Saints (2-16) were able to get their deficit to just four after a Rahul Gor basket to begin the fourth quarter.

However, the Saints committed eight of their 20 turnovers in the final quarter, which boosted a 14-2 Marmion run to seal the victory.

“Turnovers just killed us tonight,” St. Charles East coach Pat Woods said. “[We had] just way too many turnovers against a really tough Marmion team. They play a really tough schedule and their record is very deceiving… You have to credit [Goodbred] to be ready in a spot like that and nail two big 3s. They brought him in for a reason and he did his job.”

Call led the Saints with a game-high 15 points in the loss, while Jabe Haith (15 points), Collin Wainscott (12) and Roots (11) all reached double figures for Marmion.

Roots, who added eight rebounds a five blocked shots, said he’s good friends with Goodbred and knew if he got the opportunity to make an impact Tuesday night, that he and his teammates were confident those shots would find the bottom of the net.

“It’s a family environment on this team and we all love [Raef],” Roots said. “Tonight is honestly just what he does. He’s a great shooter so when he comes in, we expect that from him. When he delivers, we get excited for him and just go crazy.”