News editor
A hot and cold game by the Marion Warriors boys’ basketball team ended in defeat to the Bennington Bulldogs during Friday’s winter homecoming festivities.
Marion got out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter with a pair of three-pointers from the right wing by Ethan Hett and baskets in the lane by homecoming king Jacob Harper. Wiley Lundy also scored a basket following an offensive rebound. The Bulldogs finished the quarter with a 9-2 run, and the first quarter ended with a score of 12-9, Marion.
The Warriors were scoreless in the second quarter. They missed shots, missed free throws, and committed turnovers and offensive fouls in the quarter, while Bennington added 13 points to end the half with a 22-12 lead.
Marion got back on the scoreboard a little over two minutes into the third quarter with a pair of free throws by Jordan Hett. Despite the scoreless second quarter, the Warriors made a game of it in the second half. Harper made a pair of free throws and a layup after a steal. Austin Pedersen sank a three-pointer, and Jordan Hett added another two free throws to end the third quarter with a score of 30-23, Bennington.
Scoring for the Warriors picked up in the early part of the fourth quarter, with a three-pointer, baseline drive, and pair of free throws by Harper and a pair of baskets by Jordan Hett, including a layup when he switched hands behind his back to keep the ball out of reach of a defender.
But the Bulldogs continued to keep distance from the Warriors until Pedersen hit a three-pointer and Harper scored on back-to-back drives to bring Marion within four points, 45-41. Marion wouldn’t score again, though, and the Bulldogs piled up points from the free-throw line. The final score was 52-41.
Harper led Marion in scoring with 19 points; Jordan Hett, 8; Ethan Hett, 6; Pedersen, 6; and Lundy, 2.