Boys basketball: Findlay Prep snaps Marcus' 42-game win streak

LANCASTER -- In a contest that could go a long way in helping to determine high school basketball's mythical national champion, Findlay Prep's (Henderson, Nev.) group of future Division I players had enough firepower to get past Marcus in a grind-it-out affair, 47-39, Saturday in the finale of the Throwdown in D-Town Classic at the Lancaster Tiger Coliseum.

The Pilots -- ranked No. 8 in ESPNHS's Powerade Fab 50 -- improved to 7-0 on the season and snapped a 42-game Marauder win streak that dated back to early last December. Marcus entered the game as the No. 5 team in the Fab 50 and never trailed in the first half.

"We did everything right to win the game tonight except shoot the ball well," said Danny Henderson, Marcus coach. "We did everything you have to do beat a collection of talent like that. We laid it on the floor and I'm just really proud of my kids."

In a defensive struggle the Marauders are more than accustomed to playing in, Marcus held the Pilots to 18 first-half points as they took a two-point advantage to the break.

But Findlay began imposing its will inside in the second half, scoring 14 in the third and 15 in the fourth to gain control.

Anthony Bennett (ranked No. 7 amongst prospects in the 2012 ESPNU 100) recorded nine of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter for Findlay to go with 11 rebounds, while guards Nigel Williams-Goss -- the game's MVP -- and Amedeo Della-Valle posted 10 points apiece. A majority of the backcourt's scoring came via the free throw line, where Findlay held a 16-7 advantage. The Pilots drew 14 fouls in the second half and committed just four.

Winston Shepherd (No. 68) contributed across the board for Findlay with four points, five rebounds and four assists.

Oklahoma State signee Marcus Smart (No. 11) led the Marauders with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while guard A.J. Luckey was able to effectively get in the paint and finished with nine. Nick Banyard (New Mexico) chipped in five points and seven boards.

"We lost to a really good team," Smart said. "Words can't explain how bad we wanted this. But down the road this is going to help us. If we play at the level we did tonight against the teams we are going to play, we're going to be tough to beat."

While Marcus received the defense it needed to top a Findlay squad that entered averaging 105 points per game, the Marauders struggled on the offensive end, including shooting 2-for-19 from long distance. Banyard followed a Smart put-back dunk with the squad's first three to give Marcus an early 5-0 lead. The second, from Smart, pulled Marcus to within two at 37-35 with six minutes remaining in the fourth.

With just under 90 seconds left in the fourth and Marcus trailing, 42-39, following a put-back from Jordan Johnson, Phil Forte (Oklahoma State) appeared to have tipped a ball away and sparked a Marcus break. But to the dismay of the decisively pro-Marcus crowd, a foul was called sending Williams-Goss to the line for a pair of free throws. The Marauders would not get any closer.

Forte was 0-for-4 from long-range and finished with two points. Marcus also shot just 7-of-14 from the charity stripe while the Pilots connected on 16 of their 23 attempts.

"We missed free throws and missed some other shots we normally make," Henderson said.

Findlay took its first lead of the contest at the 6:56 mark of the third when Della-Valla was fouled from beyond the arc and knocked down all three attempts for a 23-22 advantage. On Findlay's following possession, Della-Vella converted a 3-pointer to put the Pilots in front by four.

Late in the third, Forte drove the lane and floated in his only field goal of the night to send the teams to the fourth dead-even at 32-32. But a Marcus turnover early in the fourth resulted in a dunk for Bennett, who later added a basket and foul on a pass from Shepherd to put the Pilots in front, 42-35.

"They are literally a head taller at every position and they're all D-1 players," Henderson said. "Whoever catches the ball down on the block is an incredible challenge to guard. Defensively, I'm proud of our kids, because 47 points isn't the actual score. We had to foul there at the end but we really held them to around 40."

Saddled with foul trouble and missing a majority of the third, Marcus limited Arizona signee Brandon Ashley (No. 4) to just two points and four rebounds.

"We did the best we could on them," Smart said. "They just create matchup problems because they're very versatile. They can step out and shoot and they can handle the ball. I actually thought we held them from going off on us."

"I can't imagine a better collection of talent at the high school level," Henderson added. "And they're well-coached. I've said it and I'll say it again. You don't get stronger picking up sticks. You get stronger by picking up logs. And that's the biggest log in the country right there."

After co-hosting the Marauder-Jaguar Classic with Flower Mound this upcoming Thursday-Saturday, Marcus takes on its next log when it plays Montrose Christian (No. 4 in the Fab 50) Dec. 15 in Lewisville in a game televised live on ESPN. The contest will be preceded by Prestonwood Christian Academy facing off against Arlington Grace Preparatory Academy (No. 16).

"I have no qualms with how our kids played tonight," Henderson said. "We just didn't make shots. But what we can take from this is something you can't simulate in practice and that's the phenomenal athleticism that we were going against defensively. Having done it now, when we play Montrose, it should be easier for us, because they'll have similar athletes."

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