By Mike Clark
This is a familiar spot for senior guard Marquis Williams and Marshall, playing for a sectional championship.
Williams is a three-year starter for the Commandos, who are in the Class 1A Sweet Sixteen for the third straight season and are seeking their third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight.
But it wasn’t a matter of just running it back for Marshall, which beat Chicago Richards 64-58 Tuesday night in a Class 1A Orr Sectional semifinal.
Williams had 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals for the Commandos (16-9), while Antonio Tyler had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Also hitting double figures were Britt Williams (12 points) and Elijah Garrett (11 points).
David Thomas scored a game-high 29 for Richards (16-13), which was playing in the first sectional game in program history.
The Commandos navigated some challenges at the start of the season. Veteran head coach Henry Cotton took a leave for personal reasons, according to interim coach Darrin Laye, who took over on Nov. 12. Laye spent 10 years on the Commandos staff, left for three seasons and was slated to return as an assistant this season before getting a promotion.
“When (the season) first started, we didn’t have (a) coach,” Williams said. “It was hard having a new coach, we all had to buy in. We made it happen though.”
The Commandos were 4-7 on Dec. 29, but are 12-2 since, losing only to Ogden and Lincoln Park. They were runners-up to Crane in the White West and beat Manley 68-64 in the regional final.
Marshall plays fast, a style that Williams says suits him and his teammates.
“We like to keep the ball pushing, play hard defense,” he said.
All the playoff experience means the Commandos don’t get rattled. They fell behind 7-0 to start on Tuesday and led from early in the second quarter on, though the Warriors kept it close the whole way.
But the work off the court paid off on it.
“We just stayed together, kept our chemistry up, did things outside of basketball,” Williams said.
While Marshall is on a familiar path, this is uncharted territory for Richards.
Corbin Leeks coached the Warriors’ girls basketball team to the only two regional titles and lone sectional championship the school has won in any sport in 2018 and ’19. He took over the boys program three years ago.
“We’re going to build the same kind of thing,” Leeks said. “We have a good, young core so we’ll keep building, we’ll keep working hard, keep getting these kids out playing, keep teaching about the game.”
It all starts with Thomas, a slender 6-5 senior who came in averaging around 27 points a game, according to Leeks.
“The kid is a great scorer, he’s phenomenal,” Leeks said. “He’s got a few offers but he’s not getting the looks he should. But we’re building a program and hopefully this helps us get more looks.”
Thomas isn’t one-dimensional on offense.
“He can score off the dribble, he can catch and shoot, finish at the rim,” Leeks said. “The kid’s got a lot of potential.”
The Warriors’ success has come in spite of losing two-year starting guard Marshawn Cotton with an ACL injury at the start of the season.
“Keep watching us,” Leeks said. “We’re going to be back, we’re going to be better. We’re going to clean up a few things and make it happen.”
