All he had to do was witness Marion's miraculous 63-61 comeback win over Haven Friday night to know the old ticker is working just fine.

"I have no doubt this was the best win we've had since I've been here against the best team," Ostmeyer said. "I was still hyper-ventilating in the locker room after the game."

In the process, Ostmeyer's Warriors learned a lot about their own hearts and what can be accomplished with a team effort.

A Class 4A team that went 18-5 last season and returned two all-league players, Haven looked invincible in the first half.

After Marion jumped on top 9-7, Haven unleashed a barrage of five 3-point baskets in the opening eight minutes to jump ahead of the dazed Warriors, 25-12.

"We just didn't get out to their shooters and we didn't rebound the ball well," Ostmeyer said. "Then we had a stretch with about four turnovers and it seemed like they scored on all of them."

Although Marion slowed the bleeding in the second quarter, it was more of the same as Haven twice opened a 19-point lead, the last time at 37-18 with less than a minute left in the half before taking a 37-21 lead at the break.

Ostmeyer said he never lost confidence in his squad, but the officials were less than confident his team could respond.

"They were telling the scoreboard operator how the 30-point rule worked in case it came into effect in the second half," he said.

But something changed during halftime.

"We just came out and were a completely different team in the second half," he said. "The key to us coming back was our man-to-man defense. Haven really cooled off, but I think a lot of that had to do with our defense.

"The one thing about this game more than anything else is that we got consistent, solid play from everyone who got on the floor."

Led by Dale Vogel and Travis Hett, MHS outscored the Wildcats 24-12 in the third quarter.

Vogel dominated the glass while Hett, who road the bench in the first half with an elbow injury, hit clutch shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers, on his was to 16 second-half points.

Marion whittled the Wildcat lead to 46-45 before a Haven 3-pointer pushed the lead to 49-45 at the break.

"I don't think I've ever been as proud of a group of kids as I am of this group," Ostmeyer said. "We didn't fold our tents when we were down 19 points. This game shows the heart and charisma of this team and how good they can be if they just play together and with confidence."

Trailing by four points, Marion kept the pressure on the Wildcats and finally tied the game at 57 with 4:20 to play.

Ostmeyer said his defense rose to the occasion, especially Jason Hett.

"I can't say enough about Jason," he said. "He only had two turnovers in the game against that pressure, but on defense he took the Stutzman kid and flat shut him down."

Brent Stutzman connected on four 3-point baskets in the first half and seven in Haven's previous game. But Hett didn't allow a single one in the second stanza.

Tied at 59, Marion took its first lead of the night on a pair of Vogel free throws with just under three minutes to play.

Aiding Marion's cause was Haven missing four of six free throws down the stretch. Even so, the game was tied at 61 with 1:31 to play.

Haven controlled the ball until calling a timeout with 13 seconds left to set up a winning play.

Instead, Travis Hett timed his break on the inbounds pass, stole the ball and drove in for what proved to be the game-winning points with just 4 seconds left.

Haven's desperation shot rattled the rim, but Marion pulled out the heart-testing 63-61 win.

"I'd like to say I told Travis to steal the ball and score, but that's just not the case," Ostmeyer said. "He just made an individual play and he deserves the credit."

Vogel led the Warriors with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Travis Hett scored 19, Jason Hett 11 and Tyson Heidebrecht 10.

Marion hit 24 of 59 shots (41 percent) while Haven finished at 20 of 54 (37 percent), including nine of 28 (32 percent) from behind the arc.

With the win, Marion evened its record at 3-3 heading into the holiday break.

"I think it's a great way to go into the break," Ostmeyer said. "We still have a long way to go but it'll give us confidence that if we play hard and rebound well, we can compete with anyone."

Halstead-The Warriors came up short at Halstead last Tuesday, 62-45, in a game that was closer than the score would indicate.

Early, the broad shoulders of Dale Vogel and the scoring prowess of Travis Hett and Jason Hett kept the Warriors to within two, 15-13 after one quarter.

But in a span of less than two minutes, the Dragons expanded their lead to eight points.

The run started when the Dragons were fouled on a 3-point shot and converted all three free throws.

After Marion missed a jumper, Halstead nailed a 3-pointer to push the lead to eight.

"They only had to get one defensive stop to get a 6-0 run," coach Rex Ostmeyer said. "That stretch really hurt us."

Although down, the Warriors hung in with Halstead, and trailed by seven, 27-20, at halftime.

"The game was even except for that little run they got to start the second quarter," Ostmeyer said.

Marion fought back in the third quarter behind Vogel, Hett and Hett to cut the deficit to 33-31.

Halstead then called timeout. and when play resumed the Dragons launched a 10-0 run. The Warriors never recovered from the blow, and trailed 45-36 after three quarters.

"Those two stretches in the game really hurt us," Ostmeyer said. "We never got much closer than eight or 10 after that."

In the fourth quarter, the Dragons established a 17-9 advantage for the 17-point victory.

"We kind of quit a little bit and gave up some easy baskets," Ostmeyer said of the final period.

Vogel finished with 14 points to lead Marion while Travis Hett added 13 and Jason Hett 10.

"Those three were obviously carrying us," Ostmeyer said. "We have to get some offense from someone else, too.

"Our problem is when we execute our sets, we either score or at least get some good looks-and we give ourselves chances for offensive rebounds," he added. "But too many times, especially during their runs, we'd take a quick shot or turn it over.

"It's got to be our youth or something. When the other team scores, you still have to run your stuff and get good looks."

The Warriors committed 20 turnovers in the game compared to 13 for Halstead.

Marion shot 42 percent from the field, including four of 12 from the 3-point line. Halstead hit 49 percent from the field and seven of 20 from the 3-point line.

Both teams pulled down 24 rebounds. Vogel finished with 13.

Halstead held the edge at the free-throw line, hitting 13 of 14 (93 percent) compared to five of 10 (50 percent) for the Warriors.

With the loss, Marion falls to 2-3 for the season.

"It all comes down to consistency and being able to play every single possession of the game, because obviously in our last three games, we've proved that two possessions can be the difference in a ball game," Ostmeyer said. "Until we figure that out, we're going to struggle."