Warriors trap Panthers for third league victory
After blowing a late three- point lead at Smoky Valley Feb. 1, Marion High School boys' basketball coach Rex Ostmeyer couldn't have asked for a better outcome Friday night.
The Warriors poured it on from the beginning, as they cruised to a 68-45 Mid-Central Activities Association victory.
Senior center Dale Vogel remained consistently dominant underneath. He scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the second consecutive game. For the season he is averaging 16.9 points (second in the MCAA) and 8.4 rebounds.
He did get some help however from two sophomore guards.
Jason Hett had 14 points on 6-13 shooting, and Travis Hett scored 15 points, nine coming off three-pointers.
He is 7-16 from three point range the last two games.
"We've been such a slow-starting team all year, I kind of challenged them to get out of the gate a little quicker," head coach Rex Ostmeyer said.
That's exactly what Marion did.
Senior Tyson Heidebrecht scored the opening points for Marion, and the Warriors never looked back.
The Warriors jumped ahead 7-0, behind four points from senior Nick Carlson.
That's when both Hetts and Vogel stepped in.
The trio scored 22 of Marion's 33 first half points, as the Warriors led by 12 at the half.
The crowd could sense the confidence of the home team on its winter homecoming night, a far cry from the way it looked Feb. 1 after Smoky Valley ended the game on a 15-0 run.
Ostmeyer was happy to see them bounce back, and Vogel was able to find shooters on the perimeter after they doubled down on him.
"We've got to get Dale to do that because he's drawing so much attention from everybody," Ostmeyer said.
The Warriors worked the inside-outside game so well in the first half, they decided to do it again in the second.
The trio scored 26 points combined in the second half, although not all came off passes from underneath.
Carlson finished the game with only five points, but dished out six assists.
"If he plays with confidence and aggressiveness, he can do some things," Ostmeyer said of Carlson.
Along with his six assists Carlson added five rebounds and two steals.
The damage was done heading into the fourth quarter, as Marion built a 50-33 lead.
With just more than two minutes left, Ostmeyer was able to sit his starters and let some younger guys play after building a 66-39 lead.
"It's nice to give some of our younger guys some playing time," Ostmeyer said.
The victory evened Marion's MCAA record to 3-3, and 7-8 overall. The Warriors played Hesston at home Tuesday night and head Friday to Lyons for their next match-up.
Smoky Valley
Despite a 66-54 loss Feb. 1 at Smoky Valley, Marion did some things well.
After trailing 34-24 at the half, the Warriors outscored the Vikings 23-10 in the third quarter. Travis Hett hit four three-pointers in the game, including three in a row during a span in the third quarter.
A seven-point fourth quarter did Marion in, as they blew a late lead in the MCAA match-up.
Junior Varsity
The MHS junior varsity squad earned two overtime victories this past week.
Juniors Josh Kelsey (14 points), Jeremy Vondenkamp (12) and Russell Ploutz (9) led Marion to a 63-61 victory at Smoky Valley.
The second overtime victory in a row came Friday night against Nickerson. Down by three late in the fourth quarter, Kelsey nailed a three to tie the game at 50, and force overtime.
Marion outscored Nickerson 9-3 in the extra period to take the victory.
On Saturday the Warriors downed Berean Academy 65-48 in the Hillsboro JV tournament. Freshman Calvin Jeffrey hit seven three-pointers on his way to a 23-point effort.
In the second round Jefferey added 18 more points, but the Warriors fell to Hillsboro, 55-41. They play at 1 p.m. Saturday against Hesston for third place at Hillsboro High School.
