Marquette and Andrean battled in the Regional semifinal Saturday while Westview was challenged by Canterbury at North Judson High School. 

Andrean won the regular season meeting by 12 points, but Marquette played well down the stretch of the year. It had the makings of a close game and it lived up to the expectations.

Early turnovers for Andrean led to Marquette’s first few baskets. For most of the game, Andrean was able to get good looks in the paint, but the 59ers failed to finish early. Andrean played through the post on nearly every possession in the halfcourt.

Joe Andershock gave Marquette an early scoring punch. He scored seven in the first quarter then tallied the first five points of the second to give Marquette a couple possession lead. He slashed to the basket for a couple of scores then hit a three-pointer as well.

James Hudson, Andrean’s leading scorer, picked up his offense in the second quarter. He was able to find clean looks in the paint on a consistent basis in the first half. He tallied 11 points in the first half.

It was a back and forth game throughout the second half with Kyle Ross, Hudson and John Carrothers picking up the pace for Andrean. Ross did a great job of sealing in the post for easy baskets at the rim. He was efficient all game. For Marquette, it was Colin Kenney, Buddy Jaffee and Chandler Goodwin doing most of the damage. Kenney never fully found his shooting stroke finishing 8-21, but he had scoring spurts that gave Marquette energy.

In the fourth quarter, Andrean looked on its way to blowing the game open. The 59ers had the lead to nine points early in the fourth quarter. It stayed that way Buddy Jaffee two threes then Joe Andershock hit a corner three-pointer to tie it. James Hudson was able to convert two free throws with 1:18 to give Andrean the lead.

With Andrean holding a two-point lead, Marquette had the ball with 13 seconds left. It worked the ball around until the Blazers found Goodwin for a layup to tie the game. Andrean rushed down the court for a chance to win, but the shot was off the mark.

In overtime, Andrean scored the first nine points of the extra frame. Marquette didn’t give up. Buddy Jaffee and Jake Tarnow hit triples to give the Blazers a chance. Andrean sealed the game with free throws, though.

Andrean won 79-72 with James Hudson scoring 20 points. Kyle Ross added 19 points and seven rebounds. John Carrothers had 13 points off the bench for the 59ers. Colin Kenney and Buddy Jaffee scored 18 for Marquette. Kenney also had four rebounds, four assists and six steals. Joe Andershock added 15.

In the second game,  Canterbury gave Westview all the Warriors could handle for three quarters. Will Shank and Cam Kreiger kept Canterbury in the game. The Cavs made a run when Charlie Yoder went to the bench with his fourth foul midway through the third quarter. The Warriors regained their composure by the end of the third. Elijah Hales hit a shot at the end of period to give Westview confidence heading to the fourth.

In the fourth, Westview worked the ball to melt time off the clock. The Warriors did a good job of protecting the ball then finding open players for layups. By doing that, Westview opened a double digit lead and kept expanding it throughout the fourth quarter.

Westview won going away, 61-41.

Westview will face Andrean for the North Judson regional tournament title Saturday night.