Celtics Can't Tame Wildcats' Monster Trio

JOLIET —Plainfield Central's boys basketball team turned a three-headed monster loose on Providence Catholic in the first round of the WJOL-AM 1340 Thanksgiving Tournament at University of St. Francis.

Derrick Marks, Justin Scanlan and Andre Norris combined for all but 13 points and 15 rebounds in the Wildcats' season-opening 60-45 win over the Celtics on Monday night.

"When we execute our assignments and make the extra pass, we're going to score," Plainfield Central coach Steve Lamberti said. "We sometimes have a tendency to work hard to get ourselves a shot instead of working hard to get somebody else a shot."

Working hard for the Wildcats was Scanlan, a 6-foot-6 senior center, who posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Marks, a 6-2 senior guard, had 17 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Norris, a 6-5 junior making his varsity debut, chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds.

Defensively, Plainfield Central (1-0) forced 18 turnovers and had a lot to do with the Celtics going just 5-of-22 from 3-point range.

"Anytime you play Providence it's a battle, the way they move, cut and screen," Lamberti said.

Colin Uthe (11 points), Blaise Houston (11) and Brian Oddo (10) all reached double figures in scoring for the Celtics (0-1).

Plainfield Central scored the first seven points of the game and was never headed. A layup by Scanlan gave the hosts an 11-3 lead after one quarter.

A 3-pointer by Zach Warner made it 14-3 Wildcats with 7:32 left in the second.

The lead ballooned to 13 before Providence went on a 9-2 run to cut the Central lead to 23-17 at the half on a three-point play by Mike Marietti (7 points, team-high 8 rebounds).

"They were 3-of-11 in the first half from the 3-point line," Lamberti said of the Celtics. "We knew they were going to make a run at us. Overall, we were proud of our guys' defensive effort."

Another jumper by Marietti helped Providence cut the lead to 29-24 three minutes into the third quarter. However, the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run, capped by a slam dunk courtesy of Norris, en route to a 41-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer by Marks gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the night at 50-32 with 4:44 left in the game.

"Once we work hard to get other people shots, that's going to open things up for a lot of people," Lamberti said. "Once we realize that, we're going to be pretty tough."