Marion boys nipped by Dragons

Written by Andrew Ottoson Friday, 08 February 2008 17:39

After the Marion High School boys basketball team put together a 15-1 run to wipe out a 7-point deficit in the first half of the fourth quarter at home Friday night, the Warriors surge subsided. The Dragons momentum swelled after an extended stoppage while Halstead coach Joe Gerber disputed the eligiblity of one of his junior varsity players, who was not permitted to play a sixth quarter in accordance with a state rule.

A 3-pointer by Chase Carlson—his third right-wing bomb in four second-half attempts—had given Marion a 58-51 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the contest. But the Warriors, hindered by foul trouble, faded down the stretch. Carlson—twice a victim of charge calls in the first half, was whistled for a pair of mysterious blocking fouls, picking up his fifth with 1:24 left and his team suddenly trailing 64-60. In between his deadeye 3-pointer and his fifth personal, the Warriors were overwhelmed by Tyler Ratzlaff and a pair of traditional 3-point plays. Taylor Glassco made a layup-and-1 with 2:31 left, and Jared Regehr followed with another at 1:24.

 Elliot Hett stopped the bleeding with a fantastic steal-and-score layup, poking the ball away from Regehr and cutting the deficit back to 64-62. On the ensuing inbounds play, the Marion full-court press resulted in a long outlet pass picked off by Eric Vogel. A time out called with 51 seconds to go led to a turnover, and the Dragons finished the game at the foul line.

 Calvin Jeffrey led all scorers with 19 points, including a 7-for-7 showing at the foul line. Isaac Hett totaled 12, and Carlson threw in 11. Ratzlaff and Regehr each had 16 for Halstead, and Glassco scored 13.

 The Warrior girls improved to 6-1 in league play with 60-56 victory in the early game. Having rallied from a 28-21 halftime disadvantage, and having trailed by as much as 10 points, Marion took a 49-48 lead on a midrange jumper by Lindsay Hett midway through the fourth. The game was tied at the foul line at 52-52  by Amanda Richmond and again at 54-54 by Julia Zeiner. Kayley Heerey made it 56-56 on a short jump shot with 58 seconds left, and the Warriors forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play.  Hett hit a free throw with 49 seconds left, but missed the second.

Kimber Hardey made the play of the game hustling after the long carom, beating imposing post player Rebecca Denny to the loose ball. After a time out, as the Warriors worked the ball around the perimeter Hardey and Zeiner collided while reaching for the same pass and the tangle resulted in a travel. The Warriors were able to run the clock down to 20 seconds before committing the turnover.

But Marion wiped out the miscue  by forcing a turnover at the other end with 10 seconds left. After swiping the ball, Heerey drew the foul and knocked down her free throw—the other was waved off by a lane violation—and she threw in an unguarded jumper at the buzzer to boot.