Marion has tough week against good opponents

The Marion boys’ basketball team lost to Hutchinson Trinity Friday, 74-46. The Celtics rank ninth in Class 2A, marking Marion’s third-consecutive state-ranked opponent.

Marion enjoyed a 14-13 lead after one quarter of play, with Sam Zinn, Eli Hett and Evann Heidebrecht each draining three-pointers in the quarter.

But the Warriors made just two baskets and four free-throws in the second quarter, allowing Trinity to take a 28-23 lead by halftime.

The Celtics outscored Marion, 25-16 in the third quarter to extend their margin to 53-39 by the end of it, and Trinity solidified its 28-point win with a 21-7 fourth-quarter effort.

Zinn led the Warriors with 14 points, scoring nine of them in the third quarter and making three three-pointers. Hett also made three three-pointers and scored 11 points. Noah Dalrymple recorded 16 rebounds to go with his seven points.

Berean Academy—Pitted against its second state-ranked opponent in as many games, Marion suffered a 68-39 defeat Tuesday to a Berean team ranking ninth in Class 1A.

Marion got off to a slow start, allowing Berean to build a 13-4 lead after the first quarter. Despite a more competitive second quarter, Berean extended its lead to 31-17 at intermission.

Berean continued its offensive attack, nearly doubling its score with a 29-12 third-quarter effort to lead, 60-29, at the final break. Marion outscored Berean, 10-8, in the fourth period to bring it to the final, 29-point spread.

“We didn’t get out of the gate very well,” coach Terry Edwards said. “We turned the ball over way too many times. We just didn’t handle their pressure. They really denied Sam (Zinn) the ball. … Our shooting percentage was down, and that was due to their defense. We just didn’t have it. Their defense took us out of things, made us uncomfortable. Defensively, on our part, we couldn’t keep people in front of us, and they made shots.”

Chase Stringer led the team in scoring with 13 points. As a team, Marion made 25 percent of its field goal attempts (8-for-32).

Citing a positive takeaway, Edwards referenced Marion’s 30 free-throw attempts, of which the Warriors made 21 (70 percent).

Coming—Marion (0-4, 4-6) is competing in the Centre tournament this week as the No. 4 seed. The Warriors were scheduled to face No. 5 Solomon Tuesday. Marion will next be in action Friday. Additional teams in the field include No. 1 Rural Vista versus No. 8 Herington, No. 2 Elyria Christian versus No. 7 Wakefield and No. 3 Centre versus No. 6 Peabody-Burns.

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