Marmion off and running with tourney title

It's been a good week for Marmion's boys basketball team, which can savor its Thanksgiving dinner while thoughts of a 3-0 start and a season-opening tournament title in its collective head.

The Cadets completed a three-game sweep in their own Thanksgiving tournament with Wednesday's 62-40 victory over West Chicago.

"It's good," Marmion's Sean Fichtel said. "We all played well and we accomplished our goal."

Fichtel scored 17 points, the same as teammate Tyler Smith to lead all scorers. The pair combined for 27 points in a solid first half performance.

"Last year, we started out 2-0 and came into the third game and lost and started 2-1," Smith said. "It was kind of a letdown. Here, we stayed with it through the finish."

Marmion outscored West Chicago 38-18 through the second and third quarters to create the wide victory margin.

"Coach (Rashon Burno) has us doing a lot of read and react on offense," Smith said. "It was easier to find the holes in their defense."

In those same two quarters, Marmion outrebounded West Chicago 17-7.

The Cadets take a nine-day break before returning to action. Burno said there is work to be done in that time.

"We have kids who can really complement each other," Burno said. "Now it's a matter, in the next nine days, of making sure that we have two or three kids getting off offensively instead of one or two -- like we had tonight."

But for openers, Marmion has little to complain about.

"It's great to have three home games for the kids to get their confidence going," Burno said. "Now reality hits. We start conference play on (Nov.) 30."

West Chicago finished 0-3 in the tournament and was led by Clark Hudmon's 13-point night.

"There are some positives," West Chicago coach Kevin Gimre said. "I like some of the things the kids are doing. They're gaining some confidence. I wish more shots would fall down and I think we need a few more people to step up and be willing to take a shot.

"The kids stayed with it and were aggressive. I don't have any problem with their effort."

The game was close through the first quarter and Marmion's lead was 17-14 early in the second quarter when it went on a 9-0 run, keyed by 6 Fichtel points.

After a brief West Chicago rally, Marmion closed the half on a 7-1 burst. The Cadets opened the second half with a 9-2 run that gave them a 42-21 lead and put the game nearly out of reach.

"Certainly there are things to work on, and we will continue to work on," Gimre said. "But you have to pick out the good things and let the kids know those things too."