Physical play leads to Warrior victory against Hoisington
Sports reporter
Don't think the Marion High School boys' basketball team forgot about football season.
A few months after the Hoisington Cardinals crushed the Warrior football team, the MHS basketball team exacted some revenge Friday with a 61-58 league victory against HHS.
While Cameron Horesky was the Cardinal star in both games against Marion this year, it was a balanced Warrior effort that led to the victory.
MHS is now 2-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association and 4-5 overall.
The Warriors had four players in double figures (Calvin Jeffrey 17, Isaac Hett and Justin Heidebrecht 11, and Eric Vogel 10), and held off a late Cardinal charge that saw Hoisington cut a 41-31 deficit to just 41-39 in a little more than two minutes.
"It was a tough game. They are big and physical," senior Chase Carlson said. "Horesky is hard to move down there."
The senior who ran all over the Warriors in football season contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds Friday night.
But it was the balanced effort from MHS that ultimately got the best of the Cardinals.
Despite being smaller than the Cardinals, the Warriors grabbed the same amount of rebounds (one more offensive) and blocks. They also hit on 6-15 three-pointers, while Hoisington was just 1-13 from behind the arc.
"We wanted them to shoot outside, instead of forcing them in," Carlson, who had six rebounds and four assists, said. "And we did a good job of that."
Head coach Rex Ostmeyer agreed.
"I thought we were the team that wanted to win more," he said. "And I think that played out in the end."
That was especially apparent when the Cardinals would not go away, continually chipping at the lead.
But every time they did, Marion had an answer.
After the Cardinals went on a 12-4 run to make the score 45-43, Isaac Hett scored on a put-back layup right before the third quarter buzzer.
HHS tied it at 49, and Heidebrecht nailed a three-pointer.
Horesky then hit a three, and Heidebrecht again answered with the second of his two three-pointers.
Although it seemed like MHS was going to give the game away in the final minute when it missed four of six free throws, it still found little ways to hold on to victory.
After Jeffrey missed a free throw that would have given the team a four-point lead with five seconds left, Gordon's offensive rebound helped seal the deal even though he missed the put-back attempt.
Heidebrecht rebounded Gordon's miss with 2.2 seconds left, and the game was over.
"I was pleased with our guys because Hoisington has a very talented group of kids," Ostmeyer said. "We didn't close like a freight train or anything but we did just enough."
Nearly every point counted in this game as Gordon and Elliot Hett each tallied four points, and Carlson had one free throw to go along with his all-around solid play.
Mitchell Leppke had just three points early in the game, but it proved huge.
A million little things like that, made a difference," Ostmeyer said.
The Warriors currently are playing in the Trojan Classic at Hillsboro. After dropping their first game Monday to Hesston, they will play at 3 p.m. Thursday at Hillsboro High School's gym.
