Staff writer
The Marion boys second round sub state game against Hillsboro was another thriller, but the Warriors were left holding the short end of the stick.
Marion ended with a 59-53 defeat, and it was a game full of highs and lows.
Marion received good contributions from its starters. Each tallied at least five points, and three had at least 10 points. However, neither Warrior off the bench scored even once.
That contrast summed up the evening for the Warriors. They were down 42-31 after the third quarter, and 13 points behind midway through the fourth. The team stormed back to within two points with a minute left, but couldn’t find those final points.
“I don’t have any words that will fix the way I feel right now,” coach Terry Edwards said. “It’s just a process you need to go through. The only way you win the last game is if you place first or third.”
Marion was clawing its way back the entire game. Even at the end of the first quarter, a buzzer-beating basket by Chase Stringer was needed to cut the deficit to 7-15.
While Hillsboro’s game plan worked, the Warriors knew it was a storm to be weathered, Edwards said.
“We were nervous coming out, and we knew how they were going to come out,” he said. “We watched them on film, and knew they were going to come out and be all over us the first three minutes.”
The Warriors turned the ball over a respectable 13 times and had 10 assists, but Hillsboro did one better, tallying 15 assists and nine turnovers.
“Value every possession,” he said. “We looked pretty loose with it the first half, with iffy turnovers and bad shots. In a game like this, you really want to get close and value every possession, make sure that’s the shot you want to take.”
The Warriors’ best case for taking care of the ball came in points off turnovers. Despite having fewer opportunities, the hosts managed 10 points off turnovers, while allowing zero to the Trojans.
One of Marion’s struggles for the game was at the charity stripe, where the team went 2-of-7 on freethrows.
Rebounding was one category the Warriors usually won, but that was another battle Friday. Marion’s 35 total rebounds was one fewer than Hillsboro, and the Trojans stayed step-for-step with 12 offensive boards for each team.
The loss ended Marion’s season at 15-7, and was the team’s first defeat since Jan. 11 against Hutchinson Trinity.
Scoring summary: Noah Dalrymple, 13 points; Sam Zinn, 13; Stringer, 12; Eli Hett, 8; Evann Heidebrecht, 7.