Roots nearly triple-doubles in easy Marmion win

Blocking shots is simply what Trevon Roots does.

There's more to the story of his all-around presence on the basketball court. It certainly starts there, though.

Roots, a Marmion senior forward, had himself a block party as Marmion cruised to a 58-28 victory over Leo on Tuesday. The 6-foot-6 forward finished with 22 blocks, eight rebounds and nine blocks to highlight a stellar individual effort.

"He's had a couple of [similar defensive showings]," Marmion coach Joe Piekarz said. "At Fenwick, he had double-digit blocks. It's what he does: He blocks shots. He affects shots very well and then the other guys know, when he rotates, there's going to be a loose ball somewhere, go get that and go. That's kind of been our staple the entire year."

Evidently, Roots has "always loved playing defense."

"Whenever I get the chance to help my team, if I can block a shot or [affect it] and make them miss it, that's OK with me," Roots said. "So, as long as we can just go out there, get a win and I can help the team in some way, that's how I want to do it."

"I've always been a shot-blocker so we've just known that as a team," Roots continued. "If someone gets beat, they'll say 'help' and they know I'll be there to help most of the time."

Roots certainly wasn't alone in helping the Cadets (6-3, 2-2) secure a comfortable win. Senior guard Jabe Haith followed with 15 points, 10 rebounds and had five assists. Collin Wainscott had eight points and five rebounds, while Jacob Piceno had five points and three rebounds.

The Cadets held Leo (3-3, 1-2) scoreless from the field in the second quarter, allowing just one made free throw from Keeland Jordan with 29 seconds left before the half. Leo was 0-for-10 from the field in the second quarter and had five turnovers on a difficult offensive night.

Marmion led 48-20 by the end of the third quarter and rode the strong effort the rest of the way.

"When we're active on the defensive end, it leads to a lot of other opportunities," Piekarz said. "We were really active defensively, having really good rotations and Jabe and Trevon do a nice job affecting shots. But, then, our guards also clean up the rebounds. Once we do that, we can go in transition and it flows together very nicely."

Haith and Roots are former AAU teammates and best friends off the court. So, the on-court rapport certainly flourishes.

"He has a very good game: All-around, obviously," Roots said of Haith. "He can pullup, he has really good vision, so that just helps me. When I'm open, he'll see me. When other people are open, he'll get them the ball when they need it."

Roots' work ethic stands out the most to Haith.

"We were with each other every day in the summer and I saw everything he worked on," Haith said. "Jump shot, you know? [Tonight] he hit two threes. Last year, he wasn't really like that. Last year - I'm not trying to throw him under the bus - he had zero threes. This year, he's one of our top-four [in makes] so it's just the amount of work he's put in. It's amazing to see. It's just how much fun he's having out there as well. Love to see it."

If Roots were an opposing player on Haith, the midrange pullup jumper is "definitely the hardest" to stop.

"Because he elevates so high and he has that length, you can't really stop him," Roots said.

Leo was paced by Jordan's 11 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Malakhi Adams had six points and Ramone Little had four points.