Marion Warriors begin CVL play with win
Marion High School's head basketball coach Rex Ostmeyer said last week it would be important for the boys basketball squad to start off league play with a win.
It was and they did.
The Warriors defeated Chase County, 63-39, during Cottonwood Valley League action at home Tuesday.
"We won pretty easily," Ostmeyer said. "We knew we had to play half-court offense and I feel we were kind of consistent in handling their half court zone defense."
The game got off to a slow start with Marion leading 10 to Chase County's eight by the end of the first quarter.
"We finally started moving in about the middle of the second quarter. We gave up far too many offensive rebounds, but otherwise we did pretty good," Ostmeyer said.
"We actually made some shots. Once we settled down, we executed and played better as a team," he said.
Ostmeyer said he was proud of his squad.
Jason Matz had a "double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Joel Versch drastically improved his shooting percentage, Ostmeyer said.
"Joel came into the game really struggling with his shooting. He was 7 for 9 in free throws, but he improved his season shooting percentage by 25 percent in one game," the coach said.
"There's no question we learned we can find ways to win. If we play every possession we'll be in good shape. We can't relax during the course of the game," he said.
The Warriors are 1-0 in league play, but 1-4 overall. They were scheduled to meet another CVL opponent Council Grove Friday night.
"We're getting better every day," the coach said. "Hopefully, we can beat Council Grove and go into the Christmas break with two wins."
Marion - 63, CHASE COUNTY - 39
Marion 10 15 19 19 — 63
Chase County 8 10 9 12 — 39
Total points — Brian Bina, 8; Clayton Chamberland, 2; Mitch Enos, 4; Jared Hett, 10; Nickolas Hett, 1; Jason Matz, 10; Tyler Smith, 2;Tyler Stubenhofer, 5; Joel Versch, 16; Alan Vogel, 7.
Total rebounds — Bina, 2; Chamberland, 1; Enos, 1; J. Hett, 5; N. Hett, 1; J. Matz, 12; Calvin Riggs, 1; Eric Smith, 4; Stubenhofer, 2; Versch, 4; Vogel, 5.
