Warriors overpower Knights
Marion High School boys' basketball team recorded a big win Friday, defeating Cottonwood Valley League opponent Sacred Heart by the score of 50 to 45.
Jason Matz was leading scorer with 16 points, followed by Braxton Skiles with 15 and Brian Bina with 12.
Marion held a 4-1 lead before Sacred Heart went on a roll, taking an 8-12 lead to start the second quarter.
The Warriors went into the locker room with a 21-18 lead before coming out on fire, racing to a 40-32 lead late in the fourth.
Sacred Heart came back, bringing the score to 46-45 with 90 seconds to go.
Bina hit two free-throws with 45 seconds to go, Keith Dudley hit one, and Matz added another to account for the final score.
Sacred Heart shot 47.6 percent from the field (20 of 42) compared to 37.5 percent (15 of 40) for Marion. The Warriors shot better than 60 percent from the free-throw line (19 of 31) compared to 50 percent for Sacred Heart.
The junior varsity fell 48-54. Patrick Becker had 19 points to lead all scorers in the game.
The Warriors have a record of 10 wins and six losses.
Season statistics
With four games to go before entering sub-state play, Skiles is the team's leading scorer with 171 points, followed by Verbic, 159; Matz, 133; and Bina, 123.
Skiles also is top rebounder with 115, 34 offensive and 81 defensive. Skiles is averaging 11 points and seven rebounds a game.
Four players are shooting better than 40 percent from the field. Vogel is shooting 49.3 percent (33-67), followed by Matz, 48.4 (59-122); Skiles, 46.8 (65-139); and Verbic, 40.9 (63-154). The team average is 41.8 percent, compared to an opponent average of 39.8 percent.
Verbic has been good on 10 of 39 three-point shots.
Top free-throw shooter is Stubenhofer, 73.2 percent (30 of 41). Others with at least 25 attempts who are shooting better than 50 percent are Dudley, 68.2 (30-44); Bina, 65.5 (36-55); Skiles, 65.1 (41-63); and Verbic, 53.5 (23-43).
MHS 50, Sacred Heart 45
Points — MHS, 50 (Jason Matz 16. Braxton Skiles 15. Brian Bina 12. Robert Verbic 3. Keith Dudley 2. Alan Vogel 2). Sacred Heart, 45.
Two-point goals — MHS, 14-36 (Skiles 5-8. Matz 5-11. Bina 2-5. Vogel 1-2. Verbic 1-8. Tyler Stubenhofer 0-1. Dudley 0-1). Sacred Heart, 17-33.
Three-point goals — MHS, 1-4 (Bina 1-2. Verbic 0-2). Sacred Heart, 3-9.
Free throws — MHS, 19-31 (Matz 6-9. Skiles 5-6. Bina 5-7. Dudley 2-4. Verbic 1-4. Vogel 0-1). Sacred Heart, 2-4.
Offensive rebounds — MHS, 13 (Bina 3. Matz 3. Dudley 2. Skiles 2. Vogel 2. Stubenhofer 1). Sacred Heart, 9.
Defensive rebounds — MHS, 20 (Vogel 5. Skiles 5. Matz 4. Bina 4. Verbic 1. Stubenhofer 1). Sacred Heart, 15.
Steals — MHS, 10 (Skiles 5. Dudley 2. Bina 2. Vogel 1). Sacred Heart, 3.
Blocked shots — MHS 1 (Skiles 1). Sacred Heart, 1.
Assists — MHS, 7 (Skiles 5. Bina 1. Verbic 1). Sacred Heart, 5.
Turnovers — MHS, 12. Sacred Heart, 16.
Personal fouls — MHS, 11. Sacred Heart, 23.
MHS JV 48, Sacred Heart 54
Points — MHS, 48 (Patrick Becker 19. Dale Vogel 9. Jake Smith 6. Kevin Costello 6. Josh Smith 4. Adam Heerey 2. Nick Carlson 2). Sacred Heart, 54.
Two-point goals — MHS, 20 (Becker 8. Jake Smith 3. D. Vogel 3. Josh Smith 2. Costello 2). Sacred Heart, 19.
Three-point goals — MHS, 1 (D. Vogel 1). Sacred Heart, 2.
Free throws — MHS, 5-11 (Becker 3-6. Costello 2-3. Heerey 0-2). Sacred Heart, 10-14. Fouls — MHS, 16. Sacred Heart, 11.
