Warriors steal victory from Haven
Sophomore's heroics lift Marion to victory
Sports reporter
Travis Hett didn't even play the second quarter.
His elbow was swelling worse than the lead for the Haven Wildcats.
Hett's Marion Warriors trailed Haven Friday night 37-21 at the half, but he didn't let the lead or his elbow bother him in the second half.
Hett scored 16 of his 19 points in the final two quarters, including the game-winning basket with six seconds left, to lift the Warriors to a 63-61 victory in front of an energetic home crowd.
"He's playing through pain, and he shot us back in the game in the third quarter," Marion coach Rex Ostmeyer said.
After Haven blew the 16-point lead, and the Warriors tied the game with 1:16 left, Hett wowed the crowd with his efforts.
Haven threw the ball around until 13 seconds remained and called a time out to set up a play. What happened next wasn't designed in their huddle.
As Haven's point guard Marcus Wells brought the ball up the court, Hett poked it out of Wells' left hand, scooped it up and streaked down court hitting a contested layup for the two-point lead.
Haven quickly inbounded the ball and a layup attempt at the buzzer hung on the rim just long enough for everyone in the gym to catch their breath. It sat there deciding what to do, before finally falling off the rim as the buzzer sounded, dragging down Haven's hope of a victory with it.
"He just made a great play," Ostmeyer said of Hett's steal. "You have a senior guard out there, and you have a sophomore who just takes the ball from him."
Despite the super effort form Hett, Ostmeyer knows it was only part of the reason Marion overcame the deficit.
"Obviously this was a complete group effort tonight," he said. "You're not down by 16 in the first half and tie it up in third quarter without everybody contributing."
Four Warriors scored in double figures, and Hett was only the second leading scorer. Senior Dale Vogel scored 20 points on 7-11 shooting, and added 12 rebounds.
Sophomore Jason Hett had 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while playing all 32 minutes. Senior Tyson Heidebrecht scored a season-high 10 points to go along with his six rebounds.
The Warriors looked dismal in the first half trailing by 16, as Haven out-shot, out-muscled, and even out-hustled the Warriors.
Ostmeyer told his team Haven's hot shooting wouldn't last — and he was right.
Marion outscored the Wildcats 24-12 in the third quarter, and 42-24 in the second half.
The Warriors got as close as three in the third quarter, and trailed by four heading into the final eight minutes. A turn-around jumper from Vogel tied it at 57 with 4:20 to play, but Haven answered back with a bucket. Heidebrecht tied it at 59 on the next possession, and Vogel then gave Marion its first lead (61-59) since 4-2 with a basket at the 3:23 mark.
After Haven tied it at 61, Travis Hett's heroics ended the game.
It was the first victory for Marion against a Mid-Central Activities Association team this season.
"They figured out that if you play hard and do what you have to do you can play with anybody," Ostmeyer said.
"I asked them before the game to give the coach a Christmas present. I don't know if they can give him a more elaborate gift than that. It was unreal."
Warriors fall to Halstead
It wasn't a perfect week for Marion, as the Warriors fell Dec. 14 at Halstead, 62-45. Poor shooting and turnovers plagued Marion as they hit only 18-43 shots, and gave the ball up 20 times.
Vogel had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Travis Hett scored 13, and Jason Hett added 11.
The split week left Marion with a 3-3 record. The Warriors are 3-0 at home, and have lost all three road games. Despite Halstead and Haven being in the MCAA the two games do not count on the league record. From here on out Marion will play every MCAA team once, including Halstead and Haven, with each of those contests counting toward league play.
Marion doesn't take the court again until Jan. 7 when it travels to Hoisington.
