However some free throw shooting late in the game and a big blocked shot by senior Nick Certa on a Cavaliers 3-point attempt helped Alton Marquette survive at home Tuesday night 37-32.

The Explorers are now 12-1 thanks in part to Certa, who was the only player on his team to reach double-digits.

His six points in each half totaled 12 and his rejection of Joe Besjak on a shot from behind the arc late in the contest helped 'snuff out' the Carlinville comeback.

"It was tough because Carlinville came in hungry and you could tell that they really wanted this game," said Coach Ducey, who was an all-state selection for Marquette back in 1988. "They just had a hand on everything tonight. Every loose ball, every pass. This game was never in the bag for us."

When the game started it looked like business as usual for the Explorers, as they jumped out to a quick lead.

Baskets by Certa, Mike Repking and Ed O'Brian got AM out to good start. A 3-pointer by Drew Schmidt pushed the lead out to 13-3 with 1:58 left in the first quarter, which ended at 15-5.

But Carlinville turned things around in the second period.

Six-eleven junior center Pete Duncan scored twice in the paint during a second quarter run while 5-11 teammate Quin Hammann added a pair of baskets.

Duncan's drop-step move on the left side of the lane resulted in a short bank shot that cut the halftime margin to 21-17.

"They outplayed us big time in the second quarter. They won that quarter easy," added Ducey.

Duncan scored the first time he touched the ball in the second half as he scored from the right block on a short bank shot to cut the Marquette lead to 21-19.

But the Explorers made a couple of defensive plays in a row that resulted in two easy baskets.

After Repking converted the back end of a two-shot foul to make the lead 22-19, Certa got loose on a fast-break after a Carlinville turnover. His two-handed dunk gave Marquette a quick lift and a five-point advantage with 6:54 left in the third quarter.

Carlinville converted two close in shots to cut its deficit to one.

A score by Scott Harris on a drive to the bucket and a rebound basket by Chris Harber forced an Explorer timeout at 26-25 with 3:57 to go in the third quarter.

Marquette's O'Brian, who is more of an inside player, stepped out and showed that he has some range by burying a 3-pointer of his own from the top of the arc to push the lead back out 29-25.

After Carlinville missed a shot on its next possession, Marquette decided to run some clock and spread the floor for the last :48 seconds of the quarter.

However late in the possession, Carlinville's 5-8 junior guard Dink Simmons stole the ball and passed the ball to a streaking David Daniel heading toward the basket.

His lay up with just :04 left finished the scoring of the quarter and gave the Cavaliers some hope trailing just 31-29 heading into the final frame.

However the fourth quarter turned out to be a big bust for Carlinville as some of the same problems that have haunted coach Quinn Steiner's club all season appeared again in the games final eight minutes.

"We have been struggling all season with our offense," said Steiner, who saw his team drop its record to 7-6 on the season. "I think we just lack some confidence right now on the offensive end. We are passing up shots and until we get the confidence to take those shots and make them, we can't take it to the next level."

Marquette's Repking gave his team a 31-27 lead with a lay in on a fast break with 5:48 to play.

But neither team was able to score in the next two-plus minutes due to mostly sloppy play by both clubs.

A pair of Duncan made free throws at 3:33 left broke the scoring drought and got the Cavaliers close once again.

But Certa scored on a turn around 10-footer off the glass and then teammate Stephen Wickenhauser canned a pair of free throws to basically close out the game with 1:33 left.

Carlinville spent way too much time finding an open man on its next offensive possession and finally Besjak took what he thought was an open look at the basket from behind the 3-point line on the left wing.

But Certa came flying into his view and swatted the shot away.

Two free throws from Repking made it 37-29 with :30 left.

A window dressing 3-pointer by Besjak with :11 remaining ended the scoring.

"I told the kids that is about as good as we can play defensively against a high-powered team like Marquette," added Steiner. "But we are going to have to hit some shots from the outside if we are going to be able to get them off of Pete (Duncan) on the inside."

Certa's 12-points led all scorers while Duncan topped his Cavaliers with 10.

Both teams take to the road on Friday with Alton Marquette scheduled to play at Gillespie while Carlinville travels to Piasa Southwestern.