Trying to win their first District championship since 2009, the Lancers fell just short against a Marquette team that they can’t seem to get rid of. After defeating the Mustangs in their Jan. 13 regular season meeting, the Lancers fell 38-36 on Feb. 24 at Parkway South High School.

Despite being the better team for much of the game, the Lancers never led by more than a few points. Their two top scorers, seniors Luke Kreienkamp and Joel Pennington, combined for just seven points as Marquette made the game into a defensive struggle.

“They defended the three-point arc a lot and we didn’t shoot well at all and they knew what we were running,” junior Kameron Emamjomeh.

Sophomore Evan Scales led the team with 17 points and senior Nick Messer added 10 points. Marquette took over late in the fourth quarter when Ryan Rosburg, a 6 foot 10 inch Mizzou commit who led all scorers with 19 points, sparked the Marquette rally with crafty post play and Matt Hink hit two baseline jumpers to help maintain the lead.

After the Mustangs made it 38-36 with just 10 seconds left, the Lancers advanced the ball past half court and then called a timeout. On the game’s final play, Messer saw his three-point attempt go wide from the corner as Marquette fans rushed the floor.

“That definitely was like the worst way to go out, against Marquette and it just sucks for the seniors to go out against your rival and to have it be such a close game,” Emamjomeh said.