Marion rises above opponents for wins

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ERIC CLARK


Marion’s Jason Matz exploded for 18 points to power the Warriors to a 48-24 victory over the Wichita Independent Panthers Friday night in Wichita.


“He hit some good shots when we were trying to get them to move out of that zone,” coach Chris Moddlemog said. “Some of those (shots) he was getting off of rebounds which shows he’s very active in there. He has kind of an unorthodox shot, but you can’t argue with the result.”


The Warriors came out of the gates with an 8-0run. By the end of the first quarter, Marion had a five-point lead.


Marion continued its dominance in the ensuing quarters, including a 10-4 run in the second quarter that gave the Warriors a 22-13 lead at halftime.


In the second half, Marion’s defense got even better, forcing several turnovers and holding Independent to just 11 points in the second half.


“Defensively we just played really well,” Moddlemog said. “We came into tonight and the seniors decided they were going to do it. Our score was not very impressive, but 24 is, and that says we played some defense.”


The 24 points allowed by the Warriors is the unofficial school record for fewest points allowed in a game.


Marion’s Robert Verbic had 12 points to add to Matz’s 12.


Trinity Academy-A strong third-quarter defense helped propel the Warrior boys’ basketball team past the Trinity Academy Knights 56-49 Tuesday night at home.


The Warriors jumped out early, but the Knights edged back into game and took a 13-12 lead. Marion added a free throw to tie it up at 13 at the end of the first quarter.


Robert Verbic’s 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter gave the Warriors a 26-23 lead going into the locker room.


Both teams came out fired up after the intermission. But every Knight advance was met with the Marion defense.


Jason Matz put the Warriors up by 10 points as the buzzer sounded in the third quarter.


Marion appeared to have sewn up another victory, but with less than three minutes remaining, Knight guard Matt Wilson slashed through the lane for two points, bringing them within four, 48-44.


The Warriors took care of the ball down the stretch, hit several free throws and walked away with a win.


Marion’s Brian Bina had 14 points to pace the Warrior offense. Verbic and Matz had 11 and 10 points, respectively.


Coming-The Warriors are 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the CVL. Marion played Medicine Lodge last night in the first-round of the Trojan Classic in Hillsboro. Results are available on the Free Line (947-3363) or the Web (old.hillsborofreepress.com).

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