Maroons fall to Vianney in third-place game

Rough starts to the first and final quarters proved to be the undoing for the Belleville West Maroons in a 66-53 loss to the host Vianney Golden Griffins on Friday in the third-place game of the 49th annual Vianney Invitational Tournament.

The Maroons opened the game with turnovers on their first three possessions, helping the host Griffins build a quick 10-2 advantage.

Then after finally tying the game at 47-47 on a Tommy Evans basket just over 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, they watched Vianney (2-1) score 14 of the game’s next 18 points to pull away for good.

Forward Eric Krus, a 6-foot-4 junior, had the first five points of the Vianney run and seven in all during the surge. Krus led all scorers with 18 points and topped the Golden Griffins with seven rebounds.

West managed to score on just two of its nine possessions during that stretch and missed all four of of its free-throw attempts, including two front ends of the one-and-one.

“I thought we showed a lot of character by coming back the way we did in the third quarter,” said West coach Joe Muniz, whose team finished the tournament 1-2. “We made some bad decisions in the fourth quarter, whether it was shot selection or not taking care of the ball.

“And then on defense, we didn’t do a very good job of guarding No. 15 (Krus).”

Free-throw shooting also proved pivotal, as Vianney hit nine of 11 from the line in the final quarter and 15 for 23 for the game. West finished the game making just 7 of 17 free-throw attempts.

“The key is, they made their free throws and we didn’t,” Muniz said. “That was the biggest thing in the game right there.”

Vianney coach Kevin Walsh was pleased with how his team stepped up after the Maroons drew even.

“When they tied it, we came right back down and scored and after that I think we kind of took a deep breath,” said Vianney coach Kevin Walsh, “and down the stretch I thought we did a good job of securing the rebounds and then finishing off the game at the free-throw line.”

West freshman forward E.J. Liddell wrapped up an impressive tournament with game-highs in points (22) and rebounds (nine). He finished the three games with 54 points.

“I though E.J. competed awfully, awfully well,” Muniz said. “He wanted the ball and made some big plays here and there to get us back into it.”

The Maroons, however, were without forward Tyler Dancey, who missed the game after breaking his nose in Wednesday’s semifinal loss to Hazelwood Central.

“Tyler’s been a three-year starter for us and he’s only a junior,” Muniz said. “But if you look at the other guys who started, that was each of their third game as a starter. So you’re talking about a presence in Tyler, who was missed both offensively and defensively.

“But we’ve got good enough players who can step up and pick each other up and hopefully we’ll get better from there.”

Krus and senior guard Nick Thomas combined for 14 first-quarter points, helping Vianney build that quick 10-2 lead.

After the sloppy start, Liddell helped West stay in it, as the Maroons had pulled to within 18-14 by the end of the first quarter. Vianney would build its lead to 37-28 by halftime, but Liddell’s eight points in the third quarter helped the Maroons draw to within two going into the final eight minutes.

Andy Behrmann finished with 10 points for the Maroons.

Thomas, who was making his first start for Vianney after missing the season’s first two games due to concussion protocol, had 15 points. Carte’Are Gordon, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, had 13 points for the Golden Griffins before fouling out.

In the championship game, Hazelwood Central defeated Vashon 73-72, taking the title for the third consecutive season.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Maroons fall to Vianney in third-place game."