The Mater Dei Knights were the 68-37 winner over the Marquette Catholic Explorers when they last played one another back in December of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Mater Dei fell just short of Marquette Catholic by a score of 51-49. While losing is never fun, Mater Dei can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 402nd, while Marquette Catholic is ranked 170th).
Mater Dei's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nick Lampe, who scored 14 points along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Drake Wagner, who scored 16 points along with 6 rebounds.
Mater Dei's loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 2-5. As for Marquette Catholic, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 4-1.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mater Dei's road trip will continue as they head out to face Highland at 7:30 p.m. on December 5th. As for Marquette Catholic, they will square off against Father McGivney Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Father McGivney Catholic focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Friday.
