Warrior frosh split games at Hesston tourney
The Marion High School freshman boys' basketball team traveled Saturday to Hesston, chalking up a win against Buhler and losing to the host Swathers.
The Warriors got off to a sluggish start in the first half, but were effective enough to hold a two-point edge at halftime, 24-22.
Full-court pressure and an aggressive half-court trapping defense by the Warriors completely smothered Buhler shooters in the second half, as Marion allowed only four points in the final 16 minutes.
Marion clicked along on offense, led by Wil Case's 15 points, and cruised to a 45-26 win.
The Warriors collected additional scoring from Randy Carlson, with nine, and Adam Maag, with eight.
Marion faced off against Hesston in the second game. The Swathers took the early lead, but a Brian Fruechting inside bucket pulled the Warriors to within one, 7-6, midway through the first period.
A five-point flurry by Hesston at the close of the quarter gave the Swathers a five-point edge, 13-8. The Warriors were unable to make any headway in the second quarter, going to intermission trailing 22-17.
Fruechting pulled the Warriors to within two points, 22-20, when he converted a free throw, after being fouled on a successful putback.
But the Swathers responded with an 18-8 run the remainder of the quarter, stretching the lead to an insurmountable 12 points, 40-28.
As they did in the second quarter, Marion matched the Swathers point for point in the final stanza. Case nailed four three-pointers in the period, but it wasn't enough to keep the Warriors from falling 56-44.
Case was the leading scorer for Marion, with 19, and Fruechting scored 12.
