Sports editor
Despite losing all three games this past week at the Trojan Classic, Marion High School boys’ basketball coach Jeff McMillin isn’t telling his team to forget everything that happened.
After losing in the first round Jan. 20 to eventual runner-up Republic County, the Warriors (4-8) lost Thursday in the consolation semifinals to Wamego, 64-36, and Sunrise Academy in the seventh-place game, 57-45.
“I don’t necessarily want to put this tournament behind us — it was a tough tournament and we played hard for two-thirds of it against pretty good teams,” McMillin said. “The three teams we played came into the tournament with a combined one loss. Our focus is the same as it has been since the season started — to get better each day.”
The Thursday loss to Wamego probably wasn’t what McMillin had in mind when he was talking about his team improving after the loss to Republic County. The Warriors managed just 13 points in the first half en route to a 28-point loss.
The Red Raiders out-performed Marion in nearly every statistical category except offensive rebounds. Eric Vogel led Marion with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Elliot Hett had eight points .
However, the team bounced back with a strong performance against a much bigger, more athletic Sunrise team that came in the game with a 14-3 record.
The Buffaloes were led by 6-foot-5 B.J. Bonamy who had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Tamiko McKinney’s 21 points and six rebounds.
Sunrise jumped ahead 31-19 at halftime, but Marion used a 14-5 third quarter to cut the lead to three heading into the final frame.
However, McKinney, Bonamy, and the rest of the Buffaloes were too much for the Warriors, out-scoring MHS 21-12 to claim the 12-point victory.
Hett had 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting, and four steals. Vogel was again in double figures with 10 points and three rebounds.
“We told the guys not to focus on the things that are out of our control and to put all our effort into the things that are in our control — like our effort and our determination to get back into the game,” McMillin said. “I was very pleased with our fight to get back into the game in the third quarter and continuing to keep playing until the final buzzer.”
Hett was arguably the Warriors top player in the tournament, averaging 15.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in three games. For the season Hett leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game.
“I think he is trying to be a good leader and just really getting after it lately,” McMillin said. “He is one of the first to come around to what it means to be a competitor and give your highest level of intensity and effort for an entire game.”
With eight games remaining the Warriors are still 2-2 in MCAA play, but McMillin said he isn’t focused on the team’s win-loss record.
“I don’t want to get caught up in any of that,” McMillin said. “We try to do the best we can everyday and let that be the barometer of how successful we are.
Next up for Marion are home games against Council Grove and undefeated Collegiate. Council Grove will come to Marion Friday, and Collegiate comes Tuesday.
“Council Grove has a pretty good record against a balanced schedule,” McMillin said. “I can’t wait to play Collegiate. One message I have been trying to pass on to our team is that life is full of challenges, and you have to learn to not back down from those challenges, take them head on, and fight to overcome them. That game will be an opportunity to put that to work, because they will be a challenge to say the least.”