“We don’t lose in the crib” could be heard from the stands Monday night as the Marauders took on St. Joseph’s College. Not only were the Marauders playing for their 20th win of the season, they were also playing to remain in the top 8 in the Midwest Division. The top 8 teams in each of the 8 division earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. With the Marauders win Saturday night, they are one game closer to getting a shot at a national title.
There was a stellar performance turned in by the five that started the game. Senior forward, Gino Smith with one of his highest point totals of the season, led the team in scoring with 22 points. Smith shot 8-13 from the floor with a three-pointer, and an impressive 5-6 from the free-throw line. Robert Harris had a strong performance off of the bench with 11 points and 9 rebounds. The Ohio native also recorded 4 assists and 2 steals. Anthony Passley and Cole Prophet had a strong shooting performance as well with 19 and 18 points with both players draining two from the perimeter.
The first half was filled with action with Puma’s leading for the first ten minutes. It wasn’t until the 9:49 mark when Anthony Passley hit a jumper inside the paint to give his team a two point lead for the first time in the contest. From there both teams traded punches, and SJC managed to tie the game at 23 when CSU went on a 9 point rally with 6 minutes to go in the half. SJC cut the lead down to 5 going into the break with the score being 35-30.
The start of the second half was controlled by the Marauders until 5 minutes into the half when the Pumas took the lead for the first time since halfway through the first half. The Marauders quickly responded and capped off another 9 point rally to give their team an 8 point lead with about 13 minutes left to go. About 3 minutes later the Marauders went on a 10 point run and extended their lead to 17 points. 17 points proved to be too much of a deficit to overcome with 7 minutes left and the Marauders locked in the victory (87-75) and put themselves in good position for the NCAA tournament.
The Marauders had a clear advantage off the glass with 41 rebounds to the Puma’s 28 boards. CSU shot an impressive 50 percent from long range and 67 percent from the free-throw line. The Marauders were able to grab 20 points off of Puma turnovers and converted 18 second chance points.
The Marauders face off against Urbana University Thursday night at the Beacom-Lewis Gym. The last time these two teams played each other, the Marauders had the upper hand by one point. The Marauders look to not make it so close as they will have the home crowd on their side. There is no place like home as the Marauders are a perfect 10-0 on home court.