Sometimes, the reasons one team separates itself from another in a game aren’t exactly clear.

But other times, it doesn’t take much to tell the difference.

Lockport missed its first 16 field goals and didn’t score its first point until 5:53 remained in the second quarter, digging itself a huge early hole it could never climb out of in a 59-33 loss to Marist in the Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal on Wednesday.

Marist (29-5) faces Homewood-Flossmoor in the sectional championship Friday night. Lockport finished its season 27-6.

The Redhawks had a size and experience advantage over the Porters and wasted little time in asserting it. It was particularly evident on the glass, where Marist routinely was getting second, and sometimes third and fourth chances at the basket, and the lion’s share of its points came in the low post.

“We knew that they were smaller,” Marist forward Stephen Brown said. “We knew that we had the advantage there, so we just went out there and did what we had to do.”

Brown was one of two Marist players with double-digit rebounds as he grabbed 13, and Chuck Barnes finished with 10. Marist held a 23-7 rebounding advantage at the break and finished plus-25 in the category for the game.

“You combine the physicality that they have with the guards being able to make plays, and that put us in the situation that we were in,” Lockport coach Dave Wilson said.

The problems started early and quickly compounded.

Marist took a 10-0 lead after a quarter as Lockport missed all 10 of its field goal attempts. The Redhawks were also setting a template for themselves, taking open perimeter shots when given to them, but otherwise hammering the ball into the low post, where multiple players seemed to be lurking and waiting for their turn.

Brown set the tone early and finished with 17 points, but Barnes and Kendall Myers also caused problems for the Porters.

Grady Ruane finally broke the Lockport scoring drought by splitting a pair of free throws at the 5:53 mark of the second quarter, but the Porters didn’t get their first field goal until their 17th attempt from the floor when Trace Schaaf knocked down a 3-pointer.

When that finally happened, Lockport found itself trailing 26-4.

Lockport got two quick buckets just before halftime, but still shot just 15% (3 of 20) from the floor before the break and found itself with a 30-9 halftime deficit.

To its credit, Lockport showed considerably more life in the third quarter, outscoring Marist 19-12, but the steady play of Redhawks’ guards TJ Tate and Adoni Vassilakis, who reside in Lockport and had four older brothers play for the team, was challenging Wednesday, keeping Lockport at bay.

Marist scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to put an end to any thoughts of a miracle rally for Lockport.

Nedas Venckus led Lockport with eight points. And despite the outcome, the future looks bright for Lockport, which started three juniors and a sophomore.

“I was able to talk to our returners. This is the blueprint,” Wilson said. “They played physical, strong man-to-man, and they had guards getting them in and out of possessions, and they didn’t turn the ball over.

“That’s the template that works. We’re not there yet. And that gives a blueprint how to attack that moving forward, and that’s exciting.”