The Marion boys? basketball team finished the week 1-1, losing to Haven 64-34 Tuesday, then bouncing back Friday with a 66-50 homecoming victory against Hoisington.
Hoisington?Coming off Tuesday?s loss at Haven, the Warriors wanted to get the season moving in the right direction against Hoisington.
?On Tuesday we got whupped by Haven,? said senior forward Isaac Hett. ?We were all ready to come out and show that wasn?t us on Tuesday.?
Coach Jeff McMillin said, ?Homecoming?s nice. It gets the fans excited and we kind of fed off of that. But I think it was more wanting to bounce back from Tuesday and having team goals we still need to meet. We were really avid about trying to get those tonight. I think we played pretty well.?
Hett may have been the most motivated, scoring 27 points, mostly on drives to the basket. Attacking the basket was premeditated by McMillin and Hett, who knew Hoisington?s 6-foot-7 freshman Cody Stetler didn?t have the lateral quickness to defend the smaller Hett outside of the paint.
?(Stetler) was a big guy, but coach told us he wasn?t very quick,? Hett said. ?That?s the thing with me and Eric (Vogel). We?re not the biggest post players but we?re a lot quicker than a lot of them are.?
The Warriors front line all finished in double figures. Vogel finished with a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end. Wil Case scored 16 points and picked the Cardinals? pockets for four steals.
The success of the front line came from solid guard play.
?(Mitch Cady, Drew Maddox, Jordan Hett and Jordan Versch) did a good job of finding those guys,? McMillin said. ?Our emphasis was getting to where Wil could attack from the wing and where we could get the ball to the short corner to Eric and Isaac. That wouldn?t have happened if the guards wouldn?t have gotten the ball to them.?
Cady scored seven points, Jordan Hett added four points and led the Warriors with five assists.
Haven?Unable to overcome a game-opening 29-5 run, Marion lost at Haven 64-34 Tuesday night.
Marion was out-shot 52 to 37 percent by the Wildcats. Haven also took advantage of fast-break opportunities, outscoring the Warrior on points off turnovers, 24-10. Marion was out-rebounded, 32-15.
Haven had three players in double figures led by Kyle Lee Osborn and Ridge Foster with 15.
Wil Case led Marion with 14. Eric Vogel scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Coming?Marion improved to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in MCAA play. This week Marion is competing at the Trojan Classic in Hillsboro. Seeded fourth, the Warriors were to play No. 5 Riley County Tuesday. If MHS won, they will play at 8:15 p.m. Friday. If they lose they will play at 4:45 p.m. Thursday. The tournament concludes Saturday.
