Marist wears down Lincoln-Way Central

CHICAGO -- Basketball teams rarely play two games during a day.

But Lincoln-Way Central High School did the doubleheader on Saturday.

After defeating Holy Trinity earlier in the day, the Knights dropped a 59-48 decision to Marist in the Luther South Holiday Tournament.

"I don't want to use the back-to-back games as an excuse because it was more Marist's execution in the second half than anything," Lincoln-Way Central coach Matt Smith said.

The Knights (5-7) played very well in the first half. They shot 12-of-19 to build a 33-27 halftime lead.

"We executed our offense in the first half and did a good job of limited them to just one shot," Smith said.

Marist (6-3) used a 10-2 run to start the second half. that included 8 straight points by Nick Valla (game-high 28 points).

Valla shot 12-of-20 and led all scorers. He shot 12-of-15 the final three quarters.

For Lincoln-Way Central, Larry McMullin scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

The RedHawks' pressure began to wear down the Knights in the second half. Lincoln-Way Central had difficulty getting into its offense and shot just 6-of-17.

"Marist has so many interchangeable parts they can throw at you," Smith said. "All of their players are tough, physical kids. They got us out of what we like to do.

"I can't fault our effort in this game. I just think that we need to fix a couple of things and get a win Tuesday entering the Medieval Classic."

Sophomore guard Caleb Cook scored 11 points for the Knights, who trailed 47-38 after three quarters.

The Knights conclude action here at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.