Marist speeds past York into the 4A state championship game

CHAMPAIGN—Marist is built to run. Charles Barnes, Stephen Brown and Kendall Meyers are long and athletic. TJ Tate and Adoni Vassilakis are speedy ballhandlers who make quick decisions.

York wanted to stop all that on Friday in the Class 4A semifinals at State Farm Center. The Dukes are the Cinderella team at the IHSA state finals. They used strength and size and a punishing zone defense as their weapon to pull off several upsets the past few weeks.

The RedHawks didn’t let that happen, overwhelming York in the first quarter on the way to a 55-38 victory. Marist will face conference foe Benet in the 4A state championship game on Saturday.

Myers had five steals and played a large part in the first quarter when the RedHawks forced York into nine turnovers. The Dukes had 17 turnovers in the game.

“They exploited our weaknesses,” York coach Mike Dunn said. “We sometimes struggle with some pressure and turned the ball over in the first quarter and just never recovered from that.”

The game was even after the first quarter, but the damage was done.

“That was our game plan,” Marist coach Brian Hynes said. “They were bigger than us, but we had better athletes to get up and pressure them.”

Meyers led the RedHawks (32-5) with 15 points and Barnes scored 14.

“Before the season started [Myers] had Division I [scholarship] offers and I had to tell him he would be the sixth man,” Hynes said. “It is that type of character that showed on the court tonight. Relentless effort and being a family.”

Marist assisted on 12 of its 21 field goals and had 13 steals. The larger college court seems tailor-made for the RedHawks.

“It definitely helped us deal with their zone, to space them out,” Barnes said. “They are bigger but a little slower than us.”

Hunter Stepanich led York (32-5) with 10 points and seven rebounds. The Princeton football recruit had a phenomenal high school career. He also played in a state football and a state volleyball championship game.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Dunn said. To get to where we are at at 32-5 with no expectations at the beginning of the season. They just kept getting better and better.

“Obviously I’m disappointed by the outcome and the performance. But it doesn’t take away from what these kids have done.”

Marist lost to Benet 77-68 in Chicago on Feb. 17. This is the first trip to state for the RedHawks and will be their first title game appearance.

“I don’t think it has really hit me,” Hynes said. “The last couple of weeks have been unbelievable. I see these kids every day so I am not surprised. It is great for Marist, great for our community. There has been a lot of talk that [the Benet vs. DePaul Prep semifinal] is the state championship. That got us pretty fired up.”