Val T.
- Mar 6, 2023
- 2 min read

Ortiz scores 12, Shuman adds 10, but Culver loses to Marquette Catholic in sectional final

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Boys basketball

Emiliano Ortiz

Marquette Catholic 49, Culver 41 (Saturday): Emiliano Ortiz hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 12 points, and Shane Shuman added 10, but the Culver boys basketball team lost to Marquette Catholic in the Class 1A, Sectional 50 final at Triton Saturday night.

Lukas Balling led Marquette Catholic with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jason Kobe had 20 points and six boards.

Culver shot a higher percentage from the field – 46.2 percent as compared to the Blazers’ 35.6 percent – but Marquette Catholic had a 35-17 rebounding advantage and a 16-2 advantage in offensive boards.

Marquette Catholic also went 14 for 19 from the foul line while Culver did not attempt a free throw.

Marquette Catholic led 24-16 at halftime and led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter. They led 36-26 after three quarters.

Marquette Catholic, who defeated Argos 51-44 earlier Saturday in the semifinals, won their 14th consecutive game and improved to 19-7. They won their first sectional since 2019 and will play Tri-County in a regional at Triton at 1 p.m. this Saturday.

Shane Shuman

Culver, who knocked off Oregon-Davis 40-24 in the semifinals earlier Saturday, finished 12-13. They have not won a sectional since 2014. All five starters – Ortiz, Shuman, Ethan Keller, Oliver Morgan and Joey Pizur – graduate.

CULVER (41) (12-13)

Ethan Keller 3 0-0 7, Emiliano Ortiz 5 0-0 12, Oliver Morgan 0 0-0 0, Joey Pizur 2 0-0 4, Shane Shuman 5 0-0 10, David Hite 2 0-0 5, Jonas McCuen 1 0-0 3, Ethan Binion 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 18 0-0 41

MARQUETTE CATHOLIC (49) (19-7)

Lewis 1 0-0 3, Tarnow 0 0-0 0, Kobe 7 5-7 20, Bakota 1 0-1 2, Balling 7 9-11 24, Best 0 0-0 0, J.J. Welch 0 0-0 0, Brandon Welch 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 16 14-19 49

Three-point field goals:

Culver 5 (Ortiz 2, Hite, Keller, J. McCuen),

Marquette Catholic 3 (Lewis, Balling, Kobe)

Total fouls: Culver 18, Marquette Catholic 10

Fouled out: Morgan (CUL), Pizur (CUL)

Turnovers: Culver 14, Marquette Catholic 13

Score by quarters

Culver 7 9 10 15 – 41