It didn’t take long for Marquise Moore to find his groove after an 18-day layoff.
The versatile 6-foot-2 senior guard didn’t start, but he made his presence felt immediately upon checking in, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in Holy Cross’ impressive 77-63 victory over East St. John (La.) in the Tony Rodi Basketball Classic in New Orleans, La.
“He didn’t really miss a beat,” Holy Cross coach Paul Gilvary said of Moore, who had been out with a broken toe. “I didn’t know what to expect. He kind of approached it, I thought, very intelligently. He didn’t force it. He let the game come to him. When the opportunities were there, he made plays.”
Mairega Clarke added 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, Will Davis had 14 points and Anthony Libroia had 13 for the Knights (8-1), who have won eight in a row after a season-opening loss to Cardinal Hayes.
Cross will face O.P. Walker (La.), a team which beat them in another Louisiana tournament a few years ago, Wednesday in the tournament semifinals at 5 p.m. Gilvary isn’t sure if Moore will start against O.P. Walker. He just hopes the senior doesn’t have any setbacks overnight with his toe.
“It certainly makes us a better team when he plays,” Gilvary said. “he does an awful lot of things that helps us win. I want to make sure he’s healthy. He looked good today.”