Rough fourth quarter leads to Gators loss

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Guerin's Kevin Kross splits Walther Lutheran defenders Cody Cotton and Jon Fuqua. | Jon Langham~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 20, 2012 8:46AM

A good performance in the first three quarters went by the boards as a rough fourth quarter saw Guerin’s boys basketball team come up short against St. Edward 57-48 Friday night in Elgin.

The Gators were led in scoring by sophomore Anthony Marra with 16 points, while classmate Dan Siman and junior Kevin Kross each scored eight points. Kross led the team with seven rebounds, while Siman and fellow sophomore Joe Binkowski each grabbed five boards.

“In the fourth quarter our defense started to break down, and we had some first-quarter breakdowns on the help side,” said Guerin head coach Marcus Green. “There was a little uncertainty as where to be in position. We would help, but then we wouldn’t stop the ball and let too much dribble penetration and they’d get some easy looks to the basket.”

Guerin (3-10, 0-4) was able to chip away at the 14-9 advantage the Green Wave had after the first quarter. The Gators cut it to three by halftime and just two entering the final quarter, but they couldn’t maintain the recipe of getting the ball inside enough to keep pace. The outside shots and free throws just didn’t fall for the Gators in the fourth, and they wound up on the short end of the stick.

“I thought we played well, but we didn’t shoot free throws well and didn’t shoot well from the outside either, and that hurts a lot,” said Green. “Defensively, they had good shooters on that team, and we limited their looks from outside, but we broke down and had them in the double bonus in the third quarter. There was a lot of reaching and we weren’t moving our feet. If we make a mistake on offense, we foul 80 feet from the basket, and we have got to stop doing that.”

The Gators head to Lombard on Saturday hoping to avenge an earlier loss to Montini.

“We’re improving, and the wins will start to take care of themselves as long as we work as hard as we have been,” Green said. “We’re playing together. Of course I’d like us to win everything, but I see us growing up and learning how to play, and that’s good for things down the road.”