The Marist Boys Basketball team has put together a strong first half of the season, remaining highly ranked as the team now enters the most challenging stretch.
The RedHawks started the season off hot and have only continued to grow and improve. The team is ranked 7 in Illinois on MaxPreps, the largest national database for high school athletics, and also sits at 7 on the popular Instagram account for Illinois sports @SlocheOfficial. While Marist has remained steady in the rankings, their performances continue to trend upwards with each game.
“The team has started off games now better compared to at the beginning of the season,” said senior team manager Zach Larson. “They don’t wait to turn the tempo up now, they bring it right out of the gate.”
One of the team’s biggest challenges this season was their trip down to the Centralia Holiday Tournament during Christmas break. Marist has been traveling to Centralia for this tournament for 50 years straight, but they have not won it since 2016.
“We have had great teams for the past few years, and have always felt like we could have won it yet never got it done,” said senior guard Akir Finley. “This year was just great to win it.”
The RedHawks built on the momentum they gained in Centralia, continuing to win games. One of the highlights of the season took place in a January 13 game versus Don Bosco Institute, where senior Charles Barnes had 26 points and a game winning tip-in as time was expiring.
“This game was probably the best moment of the season so far,” said junior guard Max Cranley. “They were stronger and taller but we did not let that change our mindset, which helped us come out with the W.”
Other players echo these same thoughts.
“It may be recency bias, but this game was my favorite moment,” said Finley. “This is the closest game we have had all year, having an ending like that was pretty thrilling.”
Despite falling to Webster Grove (MO) on January 18, the team did not let a loss faze them, especially with a huge rivalry matchup against Brother Rice on the horizon. When tip-off came, the RedHawks started out firing on all cylinders, showing no signs of their previous loss. Marist controlled the game from start to finish, with strong showings from senior Adoni Vassilakis (16 points) and Charles Barnes (19 points/7 rebounds).
“The team set the tone early and never let Rice get comfortable,” said Larson. “It’s good to see the trophy stay on the right side of Pulaski.”
The toughest stretch of the season is looming, with the RedHawks still yet to take on #1 Benet Academy on February 17. Despite the challenges ahead, the team remains focused on what they can control, tuning out rankings and outside noise as they prepare for one game at a time.
“It is not really about the games for us, it is more about just going at each other harder in practice, because the practice has to be harder than the games,” said Finley. “If we go hard in practice, we will be ready for anybody.”
The RedHawks enter the remainder of their season, knowing their performance has already shown what they are capable of. With the team’s talent and chemistry, the sky is the limit.
“The goal is to go down state and get a trophy for coach Hynes,” said Cranley.
