MHS Warriors come up empty against Smoky Valley, Collegiate
The hardwoods weren't kind to the Marion High School boys' basketball team last week, as the Warriors were crushed Thursday by Smoky Valley, 80-48, then lost a Saturday overtime heartbreaker to Wichita Collegiate, 64-61.
Winter storms that forced rescheduling of the Warriors' trip to Lindsborg from Tuesday to Thursday weren't nearly as chilly as Marion shooters were against the Vikings.
Routine chip shots clanked harmlessly off the rim, and jumper after jumper missed the mark, as the Warriors hit just 33 percent of their shots, on 16-of-49 shooting.
Jason Hett got Marion off to a fast start, converting on an Emmanuel Jackson miss and a free throw for a 3-0 lead.
That margin evaporated three minutes later when Chase Dippel hit the first of eight Viking three-pointers to put Smoky Valley on top, 9-7.
The Vikings never trailed again.
Hett, Calvin Jeffrey, and Travis Hett hit threes to keep the Warriors close in the early part of the second quarter, 23-18.
But the Warriors could muster only two layups, from Jeffrey and Justin Heidebrecht, the rest of the half.
Meanwhile, Viking Justin Holcum went on a tear underneath the basket, scoring eight points as he led Smoky Valley to a 34-22 halftime lead.
Baskets by Travis Hett, Jason Hett, and Jackson helped to trim the Viking lead to eight, 41-33, with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
From that point, the Vikings took total control of the game. While the Warriors missed eight consecutive shots, Smoky Valley went on an 18-1 tear to blow the game open, 59-34.
Marion never got closer than 21 points the rest of the game.
Jason Hett led Marion scorers with 17. Travis Hett was the only other Warrior in double-figures with 12.
In addition to hitting 54 percent of their shots, the Vikings dominated the Warriors on the glass, grabbing 37 rebounds to Marion's 25.
Marion fans didn't relish the thought of turning around to face Collegiate at home the next night.
Fate, in the form of a power outage, intervened, sending the Spartans home Friday, and giving the Warriors a welcome added day to recuperate.
Collegiate promised to be a stern test for the Warriors, as the Spartans entered the contest ranked eighth in Class 3A in the most recent Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll.
Marion once again opened the game strong, streaking to a 6-1 lead. Kyle Hett struck the opening blow for the Warriors, which was quickly followed with layups by Travis Hett and Jackson.
The Spartans used a 9-0 run to take a 10-6 lead at the 3:02 mark of the first quarter, but Marion turned the tables and outscored Collegiate 9-2 the rest of the quarter, to go up 15-12.
The Warrior offense imploded in the second quarter, scoring just four points — one putback by Heidebrecht, and two free-throws by Travis Hett.
Ordinarily, such ineptitude would spell disaster against a ranked foe, but Collegiate's shooting touch vanished as well. The Spartans took 15 shots to Marion's six, but connected on only three.
The teams headed to the locker room at halftime deadlocked, 19-19.
Both teams got back on track in a hectic third quarter that saw the Warriors grab an early 27-23 lead.
Collegiate fought back to knot the score at 1:13, 35-35, and took advantage of a Marion turnover to reclaim the lead, 37-35, when Cole Fiegel scored off of an offensive rebound.
Marion trailed 43-40 when Heidebrecht found his touch from three-point range, tying the score with 3:14 remaining the game.
Warrior hopes dimmed as Collegiate moved ahead 49-43, but with 44 seconds remaining, Jason Hett sliced down the lane for a left-handed layup to cut the lead to four.
After a quick Marion foul, Collegiate's Clint Cornejo missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Jeffrey made the Spartans pay, launching a rainbow three that pulled Marion to within one, 49-48.
Spartan Brett Alexander pushed the lead back to three with two free throws, leaving 28 seconds for Marion to respond.
Travis Hett delivered, bringing the home crowd to its feet on a trey with 11 seconds left, forcing overtime.
Marion quickly fell behind in the extra period, 57-52, but had one last hope with 6.2 seconds left, trailing 64-61.
That hope disappeared as Travis Hett's layup missed, sending Collegiate home with the victory.
The Spartans won the game at the free-throw line, where they outscored Marion 20-13.
Fiegel led all scorers with 24. Marion's Jason Hett was close behind with 23, and Travis Hett was the only other Warrior in double-figures, with 13.
The Warriors are anticipating a rematch with Hillsboro this coming Tuesday in the opening round of substate tournament action.
