Bad quarter spells defeat for Warriors
One bad quarter spelled defeat for the Marion High School boys basketball squad when they fell to Hillsboro, 46-63, Jan. 21 at the Hillsboro Trojan Classic.
"We were ahead at the end of the first quarter. They outscored us by 16 in the second quarter. We played even in the second half, but by then we were down and that hurt us," said Marion boys' head coach Rex Ostmeyer.
"We fought, we scrapped, we battled. Then we turned the ball over and that was that," he said.
The Warriors kept Hillsboro to half court through the first quarter, but in the second Hillsboro regained its momentum
"For three quarters, we weren't bad. For one we were."
Ostmeyer said the team was going to have to stop opponents from gaining 10- to 12-point leads.
"We can't seem to get back on the defensive. We give them a few lay-ups out of transition, they regain their confidence, then start hitting their shots," the coach said.
The bright spot in the game was the play of Matt Rhodes. Rhodes had seven rebounds, five of which were on offense.
"That's probably more than anyone person has had in any single game this year," he said.
marion-46, hillsboro -63
Marion 13 8 10 15 — 46
Hillsboro 11 24 14 14 — 63
Total points — Brian Bina, 6; Clayton Chamberland, 2; Jared Hett, 5; Jason Matz, 6; Matt Rhodes, 9; Eric Smith, 2; Tyler Stubenhofer, 4; Joel Versch, 6; Alan Vogel, 6.
Rebounds — Bina, 1; Chamberland, 1; Mitch Enos, 1; Hett, 2; Matz, 5; Rhodes, 7; Smith, 1; Stubenhofer, 3; Versch, 5; Vogel, 4.
Steals — Bina, 1; Chamberland, 1; Enos, 1; Hett, 3; Matz, 2; Rhodes, 1; Stubenhofer, 3; Vogel, 1.
Assists — Bina, 3; Rhodes, 1; Stubenhofer, 2; Versch, 1.
Sunrise Academy
Playing for fifth place honors, the Warriors dropped a Saturday game against Sunrise Academy of Wichita, 45-47.
"This is a game we should have won," Coach Ostmeyer said. "We've got to figure out how to play the whole game."
The Warriors had a slow start trailing by ten at the end of the first quarter, regaining momentum they trailed by only five at the end of the second quarter.
"We chipped away at that lead until the very end," he said.
Like a repeat of a bad movie, the game was a near repeat of a game a couple weeks ago.
"We were tied up with eight seconds left and they called a foul on us," Ostmeyer related. "They made one at the free throw line with five seconds left. We didn't get the rebound, we fouled again, they made the free throw and that was that.
"We played well, but mistakes in the fourth quarter cost us the game," he said.
marion-45, sunrise academy-47
Marion 6 12 14 13 — 45
Sunrise 16 7 10 14 — 47
Total points — Brian Bina, 12; Jared Hett, 7; Jason Matz, 14; Eric Smith, 1; Tyler Stubenhofer, 4; Alan Vogel, 7.
Rebounds — Bina, 1; Mitch Enos, 1; Jared Hett, 5; Jason Matz, 4; Matt Rhodes, 1; Smith, 1; Versch, 1; Vogel, 5.
Steals — Bina, 3; Enos, 1; Hett, 1; Matz, 3; Stubenhofer, 1; Versch, 3.
Assists — Hett, 1; Matz, 1; Stubenhofer, 2; Versch, 2.
An overall look
Coach Ostmeyer said it was important to realize that although the Warriors have a 4-9 record, he believes the team has a very good chance to advance to sub-state and even higher.
"Up until Tuesday's game with Hillsboro, the teams we've lost to have had a combined record of 64 wins and 14 losses," Ostmeyer said. "We've played an unbelievably tough schedule.
"We're not playing a bunch of scrubs," he added.
Also, it's important to realize, he said, that the Warriors have never really been totally "blown out" in any of their contests.
The Marion team has lost four games by four points or less. He noted the experience the squad has received meeting these teams should serve it well in the near future.
"I've got to believe that this is going to come back in our favor and we'll eventually get our day in the sun," he said. "We still have the opportunity to win the league race and an opportunity to go to state.
"Anything can happen once sub-state starts," he said.
