11-28-14
BY JACK BULLOCK
LAWRENCEVILLE - Head coach Tyler Buss didn't quite know what to expect when his Mount Carmel club started the 2014-15 season at the Lawrence County Capital Classic on Friday afternoon.

After yet another successful football campaign by the Aces, reaching the semifinals in Class 3A, Coach Buss hadn't had much practice time on the hardwood with his kids.

But Mount Carmel looked like the fresher team on this first day of the 26th annual event, jumping out to a quick double-digit lead and surviving runs by Marshall on Friday night in a 64-43 victory, the second win of the day for the defending tournament champions.

Led by senior point guard Levi Laws running the show and a trio of double-figure scorers, Mount Carmel is now in position to secure a spot in Saturday night's championship game against the winner of the Red Hill side.

Six-foot-three senior Gabriel Margelin led all scorers with 20-points while 6-foot-5 sophomore Justin Carpenter added 13.

Jackson Marcotte, a 6-foot-6 freshman, chipped in 11-points while grabbing nine rebounds.

Laws, the team leader from the point, tossed in just six points but dished out nine assists as the Aces exploded to an early lead and fought off the Lions late to secure the triumph.

Marshall (1-1) was led by sophomore Josiah Wallace with 15 points while teammate Chazz Lindsey followed up with 11.

Coach Tom Brannan's club couldn't have had a worse first quarter; as the Lions whimpered out of the gate going 0-of-10 from the floor and committing four early turnovers as they fell behind by double-figures in the first 3:20 of the frame.

“No doubt we wanted to get out to an early lead and we want to get out on 30 (Wallace) and 10 (Steele) because we knew after seeing them today that it just took one shot for them to get rolling and the baskets would come in bunches,” said Coach Buss. “The missed shots by them were huge because we could get out in transition.”

Marcotte scored seven of his 11-points in the opening quarter as the Aces jumped out to a 14-2 advantage with 1:20 remaining.

Margelin and Cole Jamison each hit big baskets in the quarter, which ended at 16-6 Mount Carmel.

Not only did Marshall fail to shoot the ball well, they managed just one offensive rebound as they trailed by 10 at the end of one.

The going didn't get much better for Coach Brannan's club in the second quarter.

Mount Carmel used its size advantage and Laws getting the Aces going in transition.

Coach Buss saw his club score four consecutive times on fast breaks with Margelin scoring two of the baskets.

When Laws found Carpenter wide open for a lay in with 2:53 before halftime, the Aces were in command at 26-11.

“It's the 'Levi Rule'. When he has the ball you (his teammates) are open even if you don't think that you are open,” added Coach Buss. “He was able to split the defense and he was able to get out and get us going. They (Marshall) weren't able to keep him in front of them.”

Carpenter added another score in the final seconds of the half on an in-bounds play where he was open in the right corner. His 20-footer sent the teams to the locker room at 31-15 MC.

“We are a young team and after we missed our early shots we weren't getting back on defense and I think the kids panicked a little bit. We have to learn to play tougher,” said Coach Brannan. “We need to play tough and fight through those situations. When we do that we will be better.”

The Lions did get back into the game in the second half with a couple of runs but never got closer than two possessions.

The biggest lead of the contest for Mount Carmel came at the 3:59 mark in the third quarter.

Carpenter and Sam Deisher each dialed long distance in two consecutive possessions for a 41-24 advantage.

However Marshall made a run late in the third quarter and it carried over into the fourth.

Lindsey, who made a trio of 3-point shots in the game, nailed one to close the third quarter at 46-34.

Back-to-back long range blasts from Wallace to begin the final frame closed the gap to just 46-40 with just over seven minutes remaining.

Nevertheless, Mount Carmel squashed the Marshall plan of a come-from-behind win by scoring the game's next 11-points to put the game out of reach.

Laws, Carpenter and Margelin each added points in the onslaught and when Mount Carmel, who struggled from the foul line, hit foul consecutive charities (Margelin, Laws) the drama was gone at 57-40.

“We knew that they (Marshall) would get hot. We didn't shoot the free throws very well but we made them when we counted. We were able to get stops and we got into their bench a little bit,” finalized Coach Buss, who's team is seeking a second consecutive Lawrence County Capital Classic title. “We really didn't know what to expect coming into this weekend but our guys have taken on the challenge. Now we just need to get some rest and come out again tomorrow.”

During that Aces' run, the Lions committed three-straight turnovers.

Marshall was just 3-of-14 in the final quarter from the field.

“We've got some things to work on and at the end of this weekend we will have had more games then we have had practices,” Coach Buss explained. “The kids picked up on what we are trying to do defensively, the 2-3 zone.”

Mount Carmel won the battle of the boards in a dominating fashion as the Aces trumped the Lions 38-21, allowing Marshall just four offensive rebounds.

Coach Buss' group shot the ball better from the floor, hitting on 22-of-49 (44.8 percent) but they didn't convert very well from the foul line.

The Aces hit just 15-of-34.

Marshall can point to the turnovers (15) and a 16-of-55 shooting performance (27.2 percent) in contributing to the first defeat of the season.

There is no time for rest for either team as the two-day four-game marathon continues Saturday.

Marshall and Lawrenceville will duel at 10 am while Mount Carmel will tackle Fairfield at 11:30 am.

Then they will all crossover and play the Red Hill teams in the final games beginning at 3:30 pm.

“It's good for a young team to eat some humble pie once in a while,” added Coach Brannan. “And we had some today.”

Mount Carmel (64) – Jamison 1 1 0-0 5, Laws 1 0 4-5 6, Murk 0 0 0-0 0, Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Carpenter 3 2 1-4 13, Deisher 2 1 0-2 7, Margelin 7 0 5-13 20, Marcotte 3 0 5-10 11, Pavia 1 0 0-0 2, Peterson 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-18, 3FG-4, FT-15-34, PF-9.
Marshall (43) – Wallace 1 4 1-2 15, 2 1 0-0 7, Finkbiner 2 1 0-0 7, Lindsey 1 3 0-2 11, Steele 1 0 0-0 2, Shaffner 2 0 2-4 6, Heffner 0 0 0-0 0, L. Brown 0 0 0-0 0, R. Brown 1 0 0-0 2, Sollers 0 0 0-0 0, Knowles 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-8, 3FG-8, FT-3-8, PF-23.
Fouled Out – Wallace, Steele, Shaffner - Marshall.
Technical Fouls – None.

Fairfield (58) – Gifford 0 3 5-6 14, McGill 3 1 4-7 13, Kollak 1 1 0-0 5, Land 1 0 0-0 2, Lackey 7 0 3-3 17, Snyder 1 1 2-3 7, Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Scott 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-13, 3FG-6, FT-14-19, PF-18.
Lawrenceville (48) – Volkman 4 0 1-2 9, Cochran 7 0 0-0 14, Loeb 4 0 0-0 8, Shick 1 1 0-0 5, Benson 1 0 0-0 2, Barnes 2 0 0-0 4, Steffey 0 1 0-0 3, D. Sholders 1 0 0-0 2, Z. Sholders 6 3 1-2 22.
2FG-26, 3FG-5, FT-2-4, PF-19.
Fouled Out – Cochran - Lawrenceville.
Technical Fouls – None.