Coach Phil Leib's club lost a game to highly regarded Olney East Richland and then turned around with a poor showing in a 68-64 win against Edwards County at home last night in which they didn't take their first lead of the game until the final minute of the contest.

On Saturday at the Centralia Shootout, Coach Leib wasn't sure what sort of effort he would get out of his 16-2 club.

And after spotting Marquette an early 17-6 lead, things looked bleak for the Wolves.

Then the solid defense and the one-two combination of Nick Painter and Phil Knapp got the club rolling.

Flora rallied for a “grind-it-out” 43-40 win to knock the Explorers from the ranks of the unbeaten.

“They (Marquette) are a good club. They took some things away from us and we were concerned. But our kids were so patient. In the first half it was Nick, in the second half it was Paul,” said Flora head coach Phil Leib. “They (Marquette) did a good job on Knapp. They are long and quick but Paul is a competitor and I knew he would rise to the occasion.”

Painter led all gunners with 18-points while Knapp brought home 16-points.

Painter got going early and Knapp closed the deal in the second half.

The 6-foot-6 senior forward Painter scored 15 of his points in the first half while Knapp, a 6-foot-1 senior sharpshooter, added 13 of his markers in the second half.

As for Marquette, the normally hot shooting squad was held to just 17-of-55 overall from the floor in the defeat.

Coach Steve Medford's Marquette team, after jumping out to that 11-point advantage, struggled offensively and couldn't hold down Painter and Knapp.

Six-foot-six junior Jake Coddington was the only Explorer to reach double-digits in scoring with 10-points while Deion Lavender added eight.

Marquette Catholic looked the part of the unbeaten club, winners of two tournaments and a 15-0 mark heading into the challenge, in the early stages of the game.

The Explorers broke a 4-all tie with a 13-2 run that carried into the second quarter.

Sam Scheiter scored seven points in the contest with six of those points coming during this scoring crusade.

Back-to-back rebound baskets by Scheiter to close the first period and a score by Derrik Starrett to open the second quarter had Marquette in control at 17-6 with 7:22 remaining in the second frame.

But Coach Medford felt that the game changed by a couple of bad decisions and a defensive lapse that allowed Flora back into the contest.

On Flora's next possession, Knapp nailed a 3-pointer which was followed up by a Marquette missed attempt on what Medford felt was a “quick, bad shot.”

After a Flora rebound, Painter then nailed his only 3-pointer of the game from the right wing and the score was quickly 17-12 in under a :20 swing.

“That was big. Two straight 3's back to back. We were down 11 and now we are just down five,” said Coach Leib. “That was a big turnaround for us. Early Paul (Knapp) couldn't get going on his drives because they (Marquette) were so keyed on him. Nick (Painter) went to work. That was a different Nick Painter than I had seen the last week. He really attacked the basket well and finished things.”

Marquette couldn't put together another run of this magnitude the rest of the matchup as they saw Flora rally.

“We just didn't come out and play tonight. We get a nice lead and then we take a stupid shot. They (Flora) come down and hit two 3's and that's what's good about getting tested. Now they understand what I'm talking about when you take a bad shot how it effects the game. This was a lack of intensity and a lack of focus by us,” said Marquette mentor Steve Medford.

Painter scored the next six points for the Wolves and his drive to the basket, switching to his left hand in mid-air for a lay in closed the gap to 19-18.

The Explorers ended the frame with a free throw by Scheiter and a nice baseline drive that turned into a reverse lay in by Lavender for a 22-18 halftime advantage.

“After that first quarter I didn't chew them out I just told them to keep playing like we are used to playing and it will come,” added Coach Leib. “The next thing you know the shots start falling and the defense starts picking up. We hold them to seven, eight and ten in the next three quarters. Defensively it was a great effort.”

But Marquette, who had been struggling in the first half offensively, found the going much tougher in the second half.

The Explorers were a terrible 4-of-18 overall in the third quarter as they allowed Flora to take command and get its first lead.

An 11-0 run sparked a pair of Flora role players and finished by Knapp gave the Wolves a 29-26 lead.

Six-foot-two junior Christian Taylor nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and 6-foot-3 sophomore Ethan Leib hit a pair of free throws.

Knapp scored six points on three separate drives to the basket to finish off the quarter.

He also gave Painter a nice assist that forced a Marquette timeout at 29-26 with 3:10 remaining.

Knapp final points of the frame on another drive to the basket made it 33-30 heading into the fourth.

Knapp exploded for seven consecutive points to open the fourth quarter.

Taking a pass in the mid-court, Knapp sprinted down the floor and his pull-up jumper from behind the arc on the left wing was a dagger that started the 7-0 run.

Knapp scored two more times in close as he took the ball inside.

A fall away jumper from the baseline and later a rebound basket of his own miss gave Flora a commanding 40-31 lead with 4:14 to play.

“When you shoot the ball that bad, you have to have a different focus on the defensive end and we didn't tonight,” added Coach Medford. “It (the loss) is unfortunate but the good thing about this is that you can look at it, put it to the side and get better from it. We'll have a great practice Monday, a film session and go over these things with the kids.”

Marquette had one final run left in them but it would fall just short.

Coddington scored on the inside on a pass from Scheiter and Lavender canned a 3-pointer from the left wing to force Coach Leib to burn a timeout with 2:23 left.

A free throw by D'tae McMurray and another trifecta by this 5-foot-10 sophomore guard got the Explorers to 41-40 with :39 remaining.

But then a defensive breakdown on the full-court press gave Flora an easy basket.

Guard Dexter Burgess took a pass from Painter just over the time-line. He turned and found Taylor wide-open under the basket for a lay in and a 43-40 lead with :20 left.

The Explorers had a shot to tie the game but McMurray's 20-footer from beyond the arc missed and Mike Williams-Bey stepped out of bounds after he grabbed the offensive rebound with :01.5 to go.

Forced to foul, Marquette sent Knapp to the foul line for a one-and-one with :00.4 left.

Knapp missed the front end, but Coddington's desperation three-quarter court heave was no where close as the horn sounded.

The cold shooting Explorers hit on just 3-of-16 shots from 3-point land and committed 14 turnovers, including eight in the second half.

Marquette won the rebounding battle at 35-28 but lost the war due to the cold shooting and turnovers.

“They (Marquette) really crashed the boards hard on us tonight. Their length was really bothering us as they were getting second and third shots,” added Coach Leib. “Our main goal was to contain their penetration and close out on those shooters. If they beat us shooting 3's then so be it but we were going to make them earn it. We kind of frustrated them and they took some quick shots.”

Flora, following Painter and Knapp, got seven points from Taylor.

The Wolves didn't set the world on fire from the field, either.

Coach Leib's team were just 17-of-48 from the field and 4-of-12 from downtown.

Eleven turnovers by the victors didn't help matters but the Wolves took home the win.

It marked the second straight season in which Flora won a game at this shootout, having topped Woodlawn last winter.

Adam Etter tossed in 10-points for BMD (12-3) while Robbie Donnewald added eight.

McArthur received 14-points from Marcus Bartley and 11 from Reggie Anderson in the loss.

CARLYLE 58, MASON CITY ILLINI CENTRAL 51
Cody Huels scored 17-points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, as the Indians held off the Cougars.

Jordan Smith added 11-points for Coach Andy Palmer's Indians (10-5) while Nathan Miller chipped in 10.

Jared Entwistle led all scorers with 18-points for the MCIC while teammate Jordan Bradshaw added 14.
Centralia fell to Washington, 41-30 in the final game of the shootout.