Warriors crush Black Bears in final league game
Sports reporter
It was just the kind of ending to a regular season Marion Warriors boys' basketball coach Rex Ostmeyer wanted: a 33-point, balanced effort, league victory.
Sophomore Jason Hett led Marion with 13 points and senior Nick Carlson added 11, but eight other Warriors scored as well in the 56-23 senior-night triumph.
"This was a game we had to win," he said. "We had a tough four-game losing streak against four good teams."
The victory gives Marion a 4-7 record in the Mid-Central Activities Association, and 8-12 overall. The record earned the Warriors a sixth seed, and a match-up Tuesday against three seed Halstead on the road.
The Warriors jumped ahead early against Sterling. Sophomore Travis Hett scored all five of his points in the first quarter, and the Warriors led 13-8.
Leading scorer Dale Vogel picked up two early fouls in the first half, and scored a season-low six points.
The rest of the Warrior squad made up for his rare off day.
Six Warriors combined to score 20 points in the second quarter, led by guard Calvin Jeffrey's five points.
The freshman made good on both of his shots, including his third three-pointer in as many attempts this season.
The balanced second quarter gave Marion a 33-14 lead and some confidence heading into the second half.
Ostmeyer said he will need just the kind of solid play he got from his younger players to compete at the tournament.
"Hopefully some of our youngsters can give us some minutes here and there so that we can afford to amp it up and try and pressure people a little bit more," he said.
The second half was more of the same for the Warriors, as they yielded only nine points on their way to the 33-point victory. Marion got 16 points off the bench, and shot 44.6 percent from the field.
"The warm-up season is over," Ostmeyer said. "I don't care where your seeded, it's all 0-0 now and we go to work."
The warm-up season is not the only thing that is over. Five Marion seniors ended their home careers Friday night.
Vogel, Carlson, Tyson Heidebrecht, and Adam Heerey all went out on top with a victory.
Heidebrecht finished with five points, three rebounds, and three steals while Heerey grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.
In just 16 minutes Vogel finished with six points and five rebounds, and Carlson had three rebounds and an assist to go along with his 11 points.
