The Warrior boys gave up a 24 point first quarter en route to a 68-55 home loss to Smokey Valley on Friday. The girls gave up 24 in the second quarter of a 76-35 loss in the early game.
After a fast start, the Marion boys fell hard and lost 68-55 to Smokey Valley on Friday.
When Travis Hett buried his second three 1:05 into the game, Marion led 6-0 and Smokey Valley seemed headed for an early time out.
Instead the Vikings, led by Justin Holcom, rattled off eight consecutive points for their first lead.
Marion bounced back when Jason Hett sliced to the basket, scored and drew a foul in the process; at the 4:25 mark in the first half, the free throw made it 9-8, Warriors.
Then Smokey Valley went on a 16-3 run to finish the quarter, and the run continued into the second quarter.
The Vikings scored nine unanswered points to take a 33-12 lead with 4:10 left in the half.
At the 3:50 mark, Calvin Jeffrey made a highlight reel shot when he crashed the offensive glass and, with taller Vikings on either side of him, out-jumped the defenders and tipped the ball through for two points.
The shot gave Jeffrey one of the 25 total rebounds that the Warriors camed down with, as Smokey Valley did an effective job boxing out on both ends of the floor.
The Vikings finished with 43--18 offensive and 25 defensive.
In the second half, Marion cut in to the lead in both the third and fourth quarters, but never came closer than 12.
With 3:40 remaining in the third, MHS cut the lead to 12 when Jeffrey struck again.
Holcom made a layup 16 seconds later, and the play became a back-breaker when a foul was called on Travis Hett, followed by a technical foul called on Travis Hett.
The calls gave Smokey Valley four free throws and the ball, and the Vikings ran their lead from 37-25 to 46-25 before the clock struck three minutes.
MHS refused to quit and rattled off a 10-0 run to close out the quarter, capped by a Kyle Hett three-point play in the paint with four seconds to go.
A bucket by Emmanuel Jackson cut the lead back to 12 with 4:14 to go, but the Viking defense stood strong the rest of the way.
Travis Hett (18) and Jason Hett (12) each scored double-figures for MHS.
In the early game, the girls committed 33 turnovers and were out rebounded 40-20 in a 76-35 home loss.
After falling behind 8-0 in the early going, the Marion girls went on a 9-0 run to take the lead with 3:03 left in the first, prompting a Smokey Valley timeout.
Pihl hit a three and the Vikings out scored MHS 11-2 after the timeout, and carried that momentum into the second quarter.
Smokey Valley scored 21 straight points from 1:36 in the first to 4:03 in the second, and the half ended 44-17 in the visitors favor.
Erin Carr led the team with eight points and Kristen Steinborn had seven for the Warriors.
Rhys Pihl (21 points) and Jenna Koch (22 points, 14 rebounds) led the way for the Vikings.
