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BATTLE CREEK — Costly mistakes and a lack of execution down the stretch by the Edwardsburg boys basketball team led to a 45-40 Division 2 regional semifinals’ loss to Marshall Tuesday at Battle Creek Harper Creek. 

Marshall, now 19-7, advances to face Holland Christian (17-8) in Thursday’s regional championship game at 7 p.m. 

Holland Christian defeated Plainwell (17-7) 49-36 in the other semifinal clash.

Edwardsburg (18-8) led Marshall 33-28 at the end of the third quarter. But the Redhawks turned up its defensive intensity while outscoring the Eddies 17-7 in the fourth quarter to come away with the win. 

Brody Schimpa’s putback off his own missed shot gave Edwardsburg a 40-37 lead with 3:42 left in the game. 

But the Redhawks’ Austin Miller drained a mid-range jumper then added a three pointer and free throw shortly after to put his team up 43-40 with 24.8 seconds left. 

Following a timeout, Edwardsburg came down the floor and missed a couple opportunities. The Eddies got the ball again, but Miller stole a cross-court pass with 10 seconds left and was  fouled. Miller hit both foul shots to seal the win. 

“We gave up a late three that they hadn’t made most of the game. Then we couldn’t get any shots to fall at the end. Marshall changed defenses on us a couple times and we turned the ball over twice and weren’t able to get into what we wanted tp do a couple times and that hurt us in those last few minutes,” said Edwardsburg coach Jared Frick. 

Edwardsburg jumped out to an quick 8-2 lead behind six points from Reed Gates. A bucket moments later from 6-foot-5 senior center Matt Anders gave the Eddies a 10-2 cushion. Consecutive baskets by the Redhawks’ Miller and Isaac Hackworth lessened that deficit to four, 10-6. 

An 8-foot jumper from the senior Schimpa put Edwardsburg up 12-6 at the end of the first quarter. 

Maverick Gates’ layup kept the Eddies in front  14-8 early in the second stanza. But Marshall clawed its way back to tie things up twice and eventually grabbed a brief 19-17 lead on Clark Irwin’s assist underneath to Lincoln Fuller for a deuce. 

A late steal in the half by Schimpa and assist to Maverick Gates helped Edwardsburg tie the game at 19-19 going into halftime. 

“We told the kids at halftime to just continue to try and contain their (Marshall) drives to the basket and contest shots. I thought we did a nice doing that the whole game. Ultimately, though, we just didn’t take care of the basketball well enough to win this game. Credit Marshall because they made enough plays at the end to win,” Frick said. 

Edwardsburg looked in great shape in the third quarter after the Eddies built a seven-point 31-24 lead following Anders’ bucket inside and free throw. Matt Wailo’s layup and a Landon Lewis free throw brought the Redhawks back within four, 31-27. But the Eddies would get a layup from Blaise Crist to lead by five, 33-28 entering the final period. 

Schimpa closed out his career for the Eddies with a team-high 13 points on 7-of-23 shooting from the floor. He also had four rebounds, one assist, a block and two steals. 

Anders, who fouled out  with 1:26 left in the contest, added nine points, four rebounds, one assist, one block and three steals for the Eddies. Reed Gates added six points, six boards, one assist and one steal. Crist finished with five points, three rebounds and four assists. Connor Solarek added two points, a pair of assists and three steals. Maverick Gates finished with four points. 

Edwardsburg out-rebounded Marshall by the slimmest of margins 24-23. 

The Eddies finished the night shooting 16-of-40 (40 percent) from the field and 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) at the foul stripe. 

Miller scored 15 points for Marshall, which shot 16-of-35 (45.7 percent) from the floor and 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) at the free-throw stripe. Austin Burns added eight points and Fuller scored six for the Redhawks, who had 14 turnovers to the Eddies 16 miscues. 

Lewis added six rebounds, four assists and three steals for Marshall. 

The game was the final one for the Eddies’ four seniors in Schimpa, Anders, Solarek and Ayden Billingsley. 

Schimpa was a three-year varsity starter, while Anders started for four years. 

“I’m so happy we were able to win a district title and get 18 wins for these four seniors because they really deserve it. Our big win at South Bend Adams was a good one for us. We had a low point where we lost four straight, but the kids kept battling and they’ve just took whatever we’ve asked them to do and done it to the fullest,” Frick said. “It wasn’t easy at times, but this was such a special group for me to have in my first year coaching. I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids. They just busted their tails. I can’t say enough for what we were able to accomplish for our seniors.”

Edwardsburg will return five juniors, two sophomores and a pair of freshmen who all got varsity experience this season.