Comets put clamps on cold-shooting Panthers to win title

ERIE – Newman coach Ray Sharp broke out his lucky blue suit for the championship game of the Warkins Memorial Classic on Monday night.

In the end, it was his Comets who gave Erie-Prophetstown the blues.

Newman broke open a tight game with a third-quarter burst and cruised home with a 42-29 win over the Panthers. The Comets defended the title they also won in 2018.

“It’s always our goal to come out and win tournaments,” sophomore forward Marcus Williams said. “This tournament was huge for our bench guys, giving us good defensive and offensive minutes, and to win is icing on the cake.”

Erie-Prophetstown (5-6) was within 20-19 after a free throw from Bryce Rosenow with 6 minutes, 6 seconds left in the third quarter when Newman (13-2) made its move. Backup forward Brett Newman drained a 3-pointer, then Williams followed with a pair of steals and layups to up his team’s lead to 27-19 less than a minute later.

“In the locker room at halftime, we talked about coming out with a lot of intensity in the third quarter,” Williams said. “We were a little bit slow the first 2 minutes, but something just clicked. It was one of the steals we had at the top of the 1-3-1, and we used that energy the rest of the game.”

Williams dropped in a layup at the third-quarter buzzer to give Newman a 36-21 lead. The Panthers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to get within nine points, but managed just a pair of free throws and no baskets the rest of the way.

Erie-Prophetstown was 11-for-39 from the field against some typically sticky Newman defense, but it was equal parts Comets D and poor shooting.

“I give Erie-Prophetstown a lot of credit,” Sharp said. “They were running their offense really well against our 1-3-1 and man, and getting good shots. Fortunately for us, they missed some tonight, and we were able to get some rebounds.”

E-P coach Ryan Winckler echoed those sentiments.

“I thought we executed well, with the the exception of a couple of times where we got trapped, but that’s going to happen against Newman,” Winckler said. “They play so hard and cover the court so well. I was super-happy. I thought we got some tremendous looks, and a lot of teams don’t get those looks against Newman. We’ve just got to knock ‘em down.”

Clayton Johnson made 5 of 6 shots from the field to lead the Panthers with 10 points, but his teammates were a combined 6-for-33. Rosenow and Eric Robinson each had six points. Robinson also had seven rebounds and four blocked shots, while Johnson corralled a team-high nine boards.

Williams, the tournament MVP, led Newman with 18 points, while Devon House added nine points and 13 rebounds.

Boys basketball

Warkins Classic championship

Newman 42, Erie-Prophetstown 29

Star of the game: Marcus Williams, Newman, 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals

Key performers: Devon House, Newman, 9 points, 13 rebounds; Clayton Johnson, E-P, 10 points

Up next: Princeton at Erie-Prophetstown; Kewanee at Newman, both 7 p.m. Friday