The Marion High School boys basketball team shot down the Haven
Wildcats 50-48 Tuesday in Marion. The Warriors slammed Haven 29-12 in
the first half and held on for the win.
Brian Fruechting's foul
shots with 10 seconds left turned a desperate situation into a
comfortable lead. Before Fruechting's free throws, Haven had put
together an 11-2 run that saw Marion's lead shrink from 43-34 at 5:27
of the fourth to 47-45 with under a minute to go.
Marion led 8-0
out of the gate, and held a 13-5 advantage through one quarter.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Luke Gordon and Elliot Hett made it 27-10
with 1:43 left in the first half, and the Warriors took a 29-12 lead
into halftime.
Haven turned the tables in the third quarter,
outscoring Marion 20-10 behind Cory Hatchet, who totaled 20 points in
the game. The Wildcats closed the gap to 39-32 at the end of the third,
but Marion reestablished its center of gravity on the first possession
of the fourth. Patiently and repeatedly reversing the ball, the
Warriors eventually created a seam in the Haven defense for Eric Vogel,
who spun into the lane and nailed a short jumper to restore some
composure to the Marion side.
But Luke Gordon went to the bench
with his fourth foul just 1:29 into the period, and returned only when
Hatchet lifted Haven within seven. Called for a charge, Gordon fouled
out with 2:01 left.
A moment after Gordon departed, Ridge Foster
threw in a 3-pointer from the left wing corner to make it? 47-45, and
the Warriors immediately committed a turnover on the inbounds pass. The
Warrior defense shook off the mistake, forcing a miss, allowing an
offensive rebound, and taking possession back when Drew Maddox forced a
turnover along the baseline.
Marion had struggled with its bonus
foul shots down the stretch, but a 1-for-2 double bonus set by Elliot
Hett made it a 3-point game. The Warriors did allow one last open look
at a triple?but only after Fruechting's shots made it moot.
Hett totaled 16 points, and Vogel totaled 15.
The girls stared down a tougher matchup and pushed Haven to the
edge when Julia Zeiner scored a short shot off a set inbounds play with
a minute left in the third quarter. But Haven's Sheridan Stefanski hit
a deflating left wing 3-pointer as time expired in the third, and the
Wildcats cruised to a 63-48 win. After Stefanski's trey, Haven scored
eight unanswered to own the fourth quarter 14-6.
Zeiner's shot
capped a 20-11 run after halftime. Marion trailed 16-10 after the first
quarter and was down 13, 35-22, with two quarters in the books and two
remaining. Zeiner finished with 17 points, and Kayley Heerey scored 16.
