ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ERIN RICHMOND
Nickerson’s offense proved to be too much for the Marion boys, fueling the Panthers to a 48-36 win Friday night.
Leading scorer for the Panthers was Shawn Sullivan with a total of 22 points, including 18 in the second half.
The top scorer for the Warriors was Jason Hett with 15 followed by Travis Hett with eight. Marion shot only eight free throws, making five, while Nickerson shot 28 and made 16.
Marion won the opening tip off, but with a quick steal by Mace Krol, who made a layup and bonus free throw on the foul, Nickerson was on the board first.
Jason Hett and Travis Hett combined for the Warriors six points in the first quarter, but the Warriors trailed the Panthers, 7-6.
Nickerson started the second quarter to score with four points in the paint. The Warriors were quick to follow with baskets by Josh Kelsey and Russell Ploutz to make the score 11-10 with 3:30 left in the second quarter.
Another basket by Kelsey and the Warriors were up by one. The Warriors held on to that one-point lead at halftime with a 16-15 score.
Nickerson started the third quarter with a 7-0 run, making the score 22-16 with 5:07 left in the period. The Warriors stepped it up again with a layup by Travis Hett, who was fouled and sank the bonus free throw. Calvin Jeffrey followed with a basket from outside the arc, pulling the Warriors to within two points with 3:16 left in the period.
But two 3-point baskets from Sullivan in the last minute of the third quarter, gave the Panthers a 32-24 lead at the final break.
Baskets by Jason Hett, Travis Hett, Kelsey and Jeremy Vondenkamp brought the Warriors to within six points of the Panthers at the 5:07 mark of the fourth quarter. But the Panthers outscored the Warriors 16-12 in the final period for the final 12-point victory.
Leading scorer for the Panthers was Shawn Sullivan with a total of 22 points, including 18 in the second half.
The top scorer for the Warriors was Jason Hett with 15 followed by Travis Hett with eight. Marion shot only eight free throws, making five, while Nickerson shot 28 and made 16.
The loss dropped Marion’s record to 3-3 in the league and 5-9 for the season. Nickerson improved to 3-3 and 8-7.
Smoky Valley-Travis Hett made two free throws with 1.6 seconds left in the game to give Marion a dramatic 46-45 win over Smoky Valley Tuesday in Marion.
The two teams battled each other all evening, with Marion taking a 12-9 lead after one quarter and 22-19 at halftime. The Vikings rallied in the third period to tie the game at 31 as the teams headed into the final period.
Travis Hett finished as Marion’s top scorer with 15 while Jason Hett pitched in 13 and Jeremy Vondenkamp 10.
Justin Holcom was Smoky Valley’s leading scorer with 23.
Coming-The Warriors were scheduled to play at Hesston Tuesday. On Friday, they will play host to league-leading Lyons for Marion’s homecoming contest.
