Boys basketball: Tommy Durdan’s tosses help Marquette stave off ice-cold Seneca 50-46

SENECA – There’s no formula for turning disappointment into determination, but apparently the Marquette Crusaders can turn that trick in just about two weeks.

After suffering a hard-fought three-point loss to Seneca on their home court in the championship of their own Christmas tournament back on Dec. 29, the Crusaders vowed such a result would not happen again and filled themselves with a resolve that had been fleeting at times this season, but was in full force Friday.

That grit allowed Marquette to lead its Tri-County Conference matchup with the Irish from start to finish, with seven free throws by Tommy Durdan and some strong defense fending off the home team in the final period for a 50-46 Tri-County Conference victory.

“I told the kids that we’re not losing this game tonight. From that Friday when we played them last, I told them we’re not losing this game. Whatever we have to do to win this game, we were gonna do it, and we did it.”

—  Marquette coach Todd Hopkins

Durdan finished with a game-high 17 points, while Krew Bond added 10 points and seven rebounds, Griffin Walker nine points and Alex Graham six big rebounds and solid defense on the much taller Irish post Lane Provance down the stretch.

Add that Marquette went a solid 14 of 16 from the free-throw line on the night, and it improves the Cru to 3-0 in the conference, 13-5 overall.

“We got the ball where we wanted it to go in the fourth quarter, and Tommy did an excellent job at the line,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “Just like the last one, this was just a battle, just two good teams getting after it. … Herk (assistant Jeff Herkelman) did a great job with our defense, and we had a lot of kids step up for us.

“I told the kids that we’re not losing this game tonight. From that Friday when we played them last, I told them we’re not losing this game. Whatever we have to do to win this game, we were gonna do it, and we did it.”

For Seneca, which falls to 17-2 overall, 4-1 in the TCC, Paxton Giertz also netted 17 points, and Provance added 16. But that duo was held to only two Provance buckets in a fourth quarter that started with Marquette on top just 41-40. The Irish opened that period 1 for 10 from the field.

“Shots rattled in and out, some fell and some didn’t, but to be up on the scoreboard at the end, that’s all you really want,” said Durdan, who accounted for all but two Crusaders points in the final quarter. “We started off with high energy, because we knew that’s what we had to do, especially coming here on the road, but even when they had their runs, we always held them off, kept the lead, and we were able to get it done in the end.

“This is what happens when two teams that are close together, in the same conference, meet. It’s good high school basketball.”

Marquette led by as many as eight in the first quarter, but Seneca’s march to the line kept it within striking distance, 14-11. Thanks to Provance’s 6-for-6 shooting, it was 31-23 at the half.

However, it was a 17-9 third period in favor of the Irish, one in which Giertz and Provance each netted six points, and Seneca’s solid defense cut the deficit to just one.

But after the teams both went scoreless the first four minutes of the fourth, Graham broke the ice with a 12-footer. After Provance answered, Durdan came through at the charity stripe, making five pressure-packed tosses before Kysen Klinker got their second fielder with just 10.4 seconds to go.

“To me, the difference in this game was I have to do a better job of getting the ball inside,” Seneca coach Russ Witte said. “It’s a one-point game for the first four minutes of the fourth, and I don’t know how many touches our big man (the 6-6 Provance) got when he was guarded by a much-smaller guy (the 5-10 Graham).

“We settled for too many jump shots. We didn’t shoot great from the perimeter, but that’s why you have a big guy inside to feed it to. We have a bunch of stuff to run to get it inside, and we called some of it. … That was the difference in the last game with Marquette, we were able to get him touches inside. We have to do a better job of feeding Lane. That’s on me.

“I’ll be better. We’ll be better.”