Ethan Taxis found a small opening and went into attack mode.

With fewer than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and Plano trailing Marengo by a point, Taxis drove the ball inside and floated a layup over a pair of defenders. The junior guard watched as the ball swirled around the rim and fell through the net, giving the Reapers a one-point advantage as the home crowd roared with applause.

“The play was designed as a back door cut for Cooper [Beaty],” Taxis said. “I came back up, set a screen and I had to make a play. I knew I could go up strong, finish at the rim and get my layups.”

Behind the game-winning shot from Taxis, who led all players with 20 points while adding six rebounds, Plano held off Marengo 60-59 and remained perfect through three Kishwaukee River Conference games. Taxis made a game-high nine field goals for the Reapers (6-4, 3-0 KRC), who erased a five-point halftime deficit to win.

“We knew we had to box about because they were taller than us,” Taxis said. “We just had to fight for the ball. It was a conference game, and we had to win. We’re 3-0 now, and we fight hard.”

Despite dropping six of its first seven games coming in, Marengo (1-7, 1-2 KRC) came ready to play. The Indians crashed the glass early, outrebounding Plano 19-14 over the first two quarters of play. A corner 3-pointer from sophomore guard Blake Ritter gave the Indians a 14-8 lead and forced the Reapers to burn a timeout.

“We played good,” said Marengo guard Caden Bezik, who led the Indians with 12 points, six rebounds and a team-best four assists. “We just have to get those rebounds and finish layups. We were swinging the ball, making our shots and making the right plays.”

Marengo held a seven-point lead after a fast-paced first quarter. With the Reapers needing a spark on offense, Taxis began driving to the basket with authority, finishing multiple layups, including one that brought Marengo within two and forced an Indians’ timeout.

The Reapers couldn’t quite take the lead, however, as Marengo maintained a slim advantage with effective 3-point shooting. The Indians, who had eight players score at least five points, drilled four triples in the first half to enter the locker room ahead 33-28.

“We just have to execute our plays, know when to foul, when not to foul and play good defense,” Bezik said. “We have to keep building, and the wins will come eventually. We just have to keep building.”

Junior guard Braylon Schmidt buried a pair of 3-pointers to ignite the Reapers early in the third quarter, where Plano briefly took a three-point lead before a corner 3 from Bezik evened the score at 39-39. Although Bezik took his fourth foul in the third quarter, senior guards like Oliver Nichols and Myles Aukes stepped up. The two combined for three 3-pointers and nine rebounds in the game.

Trailing 47-44 after three quarters, Plano found a spark with its defense and rebounding. A steal and score by sophomore guard KinVaras Terrell tied the game at 49-49 before another steal soon after led to a Terrell layup that gave Plano a 57-52 lead and forced a Marengo timeout. Cooper Beaty, who totaled 10 points and nine rebounds for Plano, drained a key 3-pointer in the second half.

“We went into the locker room and our coach said that we were getting outrebounded on the offensive and defensive side,” said Beaty, whose team played without injured senior standout Kevin Martinez. “We lost Kevin, so we needed to step up, and I needed to step up and do my job. We came out slow in the beginning, but after the half, we came out firing, and that’s how it should be.”

An emphatic block from 6-foot-6 junior Parker Weadge, who had seven points and nine rebounds for Marengo, led to a foul on the other end and free throws for Bezik, who canned both to cut the Plano lead to 58-56 with 43.2 seconds left. After a missed shot by the Reapers, Marengo surged ahead on a clutch 3 from Nichols, who cashed in an assist from Bezik to put the Indians up 59-58.

Schmidt finished with nine points and four rebounds, while Jayden Zepeda added nine points and Terrell had six points to aid Plano.

“We work really well together, even though we’re a young team,” Beaty said. “We move the ball, and our guards all like each other.”

Nichols recorded eight points and five rebounds for the Indians, who saw forwards Jett Lesiak and Sam Vandello combine for 13 points and eight rebounds in the game. Aukes and Ritter each added five points to pace the Marengo offense in the game.