Boys struggle to score in early games
Staff writer
Marion High School boys basketball coach Jeff McMillin was perplexed after the Warriors’ 47-28 loss to Belle Plaine Saturday in the third-place game of the Marion Classic Tournament.
“They play tough mentally and physically,” McMillin said of his team. “You win when you get good shots and have 6 turnovers.”
What stymied the Warriors was 22 percent shooting, including 12 percent shooting in the second half, making only 3 baskets. Jordan Hett bounced a pass to Scott Jones who converted the fast break into a reverse layup for the only basket of the third quarter. Hett added two more jump shots in the fourth quarter to add to his 12-point total.
The next highest scorer for the Warriors was Jones with 4 points.
“It’s real tricky how you approach shooting slumps,” McMillin said. “They’ve shot layups before. Do you put less pressure on it, not talk about it at all?”
More frustrating to McMillin was that the Warriors — Jordan Versch, Dillon Richmond, Jacob Harper, Hett, and Jones — were playing within the offense. They moved without the ball, forced the action to the middle of the floor, and attacked the basket. While the shots were contested, they were normally taken within a foot or two of the paint.
The Dragons had two double-digit scorers — Strom Scott, 19, and Ben Gooch, 10. Marion was leading the game 14-12 with little time left in the first quarter when Scott hit a 3-pointer to the right of the key on one possession and then, with seconds left on the clock, sank a running bank shot from half court.
Belle Plaine led for the rest of the game but the Warriors were only down 27-22 at halftime. It was the scoring drought over the final two quarters that sealed Marion’s fate.
Berean
The Warriors lost to Berean Academy Friday, 45-25.
Hett led the Warriors with 7 points; no Marion player scored in double figures. Marion scored 2, 4, and 2 points in the first three quarters before posting 17 points in the final frame.
“Their defense had something to do with that,” McMillin said. “You score 8 points in first three quarters, you need more production.”
Berean did not have similar troubles, shooting 58 percent for the game. Karlin Wiebe scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Luke Friesen was the next highest scorer with nine. All but two Berean players scored in the contest.
McMillin was caught in a bind defensively. The Marion coach elected to play zone to neutralize the 6-foot-5 Wiebe. Friesen promptly scored 9 points on 3-pointers to open the first quarter scoring.
“It was pick your poison,” McMillin said.
Overall, McMillin thought the Warriors battled against tough competition.
“They’ve got guys on their team that have won a state championship before,” McMillin said. “They’ve won their last 30 to 35 games. They were 25-1 last year. That’s not a fluke.”