Staff writer
The story for both Marion High School basketball teams was similar Tuesday night. Both teams lost to Remington but played competitive games.
The boys team lost, 53-48. Down 53-42 with just under three minutes to play, Jordan Hett scored 4 points in the span to push the Warriors within 7. Although Dillon Richmond ended the game with a layup, there was too much ground to make up in the closing minutes.
Coming back from the holiday break, the Warriors seemed to be an improved team offensively, shooting 48.3 percent in the second half. The Warriors started the third quarter with 3-pointers by Jordan Versch and Jacob Harper, and a layup by Harper. Marion got as close as 5 points after Versch scored an old-fashioned 3-point play early in the third quarter.
Three Warriors scored in double figures. Hett had 15 points and 5 assists. It was a breakout game for Harper, who scored 10 points including two 3-pointers. Richmond also scored 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Versch also had 9 points.
Marion was outrebounded but only by 8 boards. Dane Purkeypile led the Warriors on the glass with 12 rebounds.
The Lady Warriors lost, 44-31. The girls cut down on their turnovers with senior Emily Hett controlling the point. Although they gave the ball away 20 times, they won the turnover margin, forcing 26 Bronco giveaways.
Marion created 17 steals led by Katey Ehrlich who had 6 takeaways. Ehrlich and Erin Meierhoff benefited from the use of a 1-2-2 half court trap the Warriors used to start fast breaks.
While Whitney Gordon struggled shooting — scoring 6 points on 2-for-17 shooting — she made up for it with 12 rebounds and 4 assists. She led two fast breaks in the second quarter, which created easy baskets for Ehrlich and Meierhoff and reduced the margin to 23-16.
Ehrlich was the leading scorer for the Warriors with 8 points. She was on pace to score more but was derailed by foul trouble. The Warriors were undone by a 42 to 26 rebounding difference.