Hett frees MHS from losing streak
Sophomore's free throws ice victory
Sports reporter
Free throws have hurt the Marion High School Warriors all season.
As a team they were shooting 54.9 percent from the charity stripe entering Saturday morning's seventh-place game against Belleville in the Trojan Classic.
What mattered most was they were 100 percent on their final two attempts.
With 3.5 seconds left and Marion ahead 70-69, sophomore Travis Hett stepped to the line and sank two free throws, all but hammering the final nail in the Buffaloes' coffin.
"Those were huge free throws," head coach Rex Ostmeyer said. "Especially against a team who shoots the three so well."
Senior Dale Vogel delivered the final blow as he intercepted Belleville's inbound pass to end the game.
The Warriors salvaged a victory in the tournament, the first one in Ostemeyer's tenure as head coach.
"I felt we should have won against Sunrise [Jan. 17], and we ran into a heck of a good team in Riley County," he said. "I was very pleased with how our guys responded with the emotion and energy levels."
No one could blame Ostmeyer for wondering how his team would respond. Two straight defeats in the tournament meant playing the seventh-place game at 11:15 a.m., in front of a less than sell-out crowd.
Vogel and the rest of the team wasn't going to let that affect them.
The senior, who is averaging 16 points and nine rebounds per game, got Marion on the board in the first with a smooth 12-foot jumper. He added two more in the quarter, as the Warriors jumped ahead 14-9.
As Ostmeyer alluded, Belleville could shoot the three, and that's what they did to stay in the game.
They hit four, first-quarter three-pointers, the final coming at the buzzer, giving the Buffs an 18-16 lead. For the game they made 11-of-47. (Marion was just 1-of-6.)
Ostmeyer had some advice for his team on defending the barrage of treys.
"A lot of time they will hit them early, and their percentage will drop in the second half," he said. "You still have to play offense and contest and give them only one shot."
Belleville nailed three more three-pointers in the second quarter, but gave way to an early Marion run.
The Warriors used five points from Vogel, and senior Nick Carlsons' first three of the year to open with a 10-3 run.
Belleville hit all of its threes after the run to stay close, as Marion claimed a 36-35 halftime lead.
The third quarter was as close as the first two, as Marion used a balanced scoring attack to lead 51-48 heading into the final frame.
Carlson scored five of his season-high 13 in the quarter, as Vogel and Hett added four each.
While Hett iced the game with his free throw shooting, it was the early fourth-quarter heroics of senior Tyson Heidebrecht that kept Marion ahead.
He scored 10 of his season-high 19 points in the final period. According to Ostmeyer, most of them came on layups after Marion's guards broke away from Belleville's initial pressure defense, and found the 6-1 forward who took advantage of the easy buckets.
Heidebrecht also hit two-of-four free throws in the last 30 seconds to keep Belleville from taking the lead.
Ostmeyer said Carlson and Heidebrecht were a huge part in the Warriors' sixth victory of the season.
"Nick Carlson was phenomenal," he said. "The offensive lift him and Tyson gave us was just incredible."
The 72 points for Marion was nine points better than its previous season-high, as four Warriors scored in double figures.
Vogel led Marion with 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Carlson added five steals to compliment his 13 points, and Jason Hett totaled eight points and six rebounds.
Although Ostmeyer wasn't happy with seventh place, he said wining on Saturday can be an emotional lift heading back into league play. While he said the team played poorly in the first round against Sunrise, he felt they just ran into a team that was at the top of its game in Riley County.
"Two of the three games we played well and competed," he said. "Now we can just go out and concentrate and get the job done."
Earlier rounds
Despite two early losses in the tournament, some Warriors turned in fine offensive performances.
In the Jan. 17 loss against Sunrise, Vogel shot 9-of-16 and finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Jason Hett added 15 points and six rebounds, in the 56-47 loss.
In Thursday's loss to the Falcons, it was Jason Hett again who played well with 19 points. Travis Hett poured in 11 points, while Vogel scored 10 and grabbed five rebounds.
The Warriors sit at 2-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association, and 6-6 overall. They host Hillsboro Friday in an MCAA match-up.
