Marion?s homecoming night ended with two Warrior losses Thursday. The Warrior girls came up just short, 49-48, while the Marion boys lost, 61-48.
GIRLS?After leading a majority of the second half, Marion lost on a Council Grove basket at the buzzer.
Neither team gained much separation in the first quarter, and Marion trailed, 10-7, at the end of it. Baskets by Kelli Hess and Katey Ehrlich sandwiched a Kirsten Hansen steal to narrow the Braves? lead to 12-11. But the Braves outscored Marion 8-2 over the next 3:30 for their largest margin of the night, 20-13. Bailey Robson chipped in five points, and the half ended with the Braves in front, 22-18.
Hess drained a three-pointer to open the second half, and Ehrlich followed with a basket when Brave shots refused to fall. Hess stole the ball and scored to put Marion in front, 25-22.
The Warriors maintained the lead until two Brave free throws put Council Grove on top, 32-31 with 42.3 seconds left in the third quarter. Kaelyn Thierolf was fouled on a basket at the buzzer and completed the three-point play to push Marion in front, 34-32, going into the final period.
Hess hit another three pointer to start the fourth quarter, and a basket by Ehrlich gave Marion its largest lead of the night, 39-32, with 5:56 to play.
Council Grove?s Faith Brintle drained two threes in a span of 40 seconds for a 41-38 score. The Braves scored two more threes in the game, the second by Brintle to push Council Grove in front, 47-46, with 1:36 remaining. After a Marion turnover, the Warriors sent the Braves to the charity stripe with 37.9 left on the clock. The one-and-one opportunity did not fall, and Ehrlich scored with 15 seconds left to give Marion a one-point advantage.
Council Grove took a timeout with 7.9 left, and the ensuing shot missed its mark. The Braves rebounded, however, and made a basket at the buzzer for the win.
Hess led Marion with 16 points. Robson added 11 and Ehrlich 10. 
BOYS?Marion struggled to keep pace with a hot-shooting Brave offense led by senior Aaron Bachura in Thursday?s loss.
Taylor Heidebrecht scored the game?s first basket, but Bachura drained a three-pointer to push the advantage in favor of the Braves.
The teams traded scores until Bachura scored seven straight points for a 12-5 lead. Heidebrecht made back-to-back baskets, but Bachura capped his 13-point first-quarter effort with a three-pointer for a 15-9 Brave margin. The Braves pushed the lead to double figures, 24-12, with 5:27 left before halftime, but a three-pointer by Timothy Knolla followed by a Heidebrecht basket narrowed the gap to 24-17. Each team made a free-throw for a 25-18 halftime score. Heidebrecht accounted for 12 of Marion?s first-half points.
Knolla scored Marion?s next five points, and when Robson followed a Heidebrecht three with a basket, Council Grove?s lead was down to 33-30. The third quarter ended with the Braves in front, 37-34.
Bachura drained two threes in the first 2:22 to push the margin to 45-38 with 5:38 to play. The Braves increased their advantage to 49-38 before Knolla scored a three-point play.
The Warriors continued to battle, but the Braves pushed the margin to 59-45 with 1:12 left to play. Robson concluded Marion scoring with a three-pointer with 54 seconds left, and one final Brave basket sealed the 13-point margin.
Bachura led all scorers with 25 points. Heidebrecht led Marion with 15. Knolla added 13 and Robson 11.
COMING?Marion will play at Remington Tuesday.
