Warriors whip Cougars
Balanced offensive attack leads Warriors to 10th win of the year
By ERIC CLARK
Sports editor
Despite the cold weather, the Marion boys' basketball team took little time heating up Feb. 3 in the war between the Warriors and the Centre Cougars.
Marion defeated the Cougars soundly in a 60-39 victory.
In the first quarter, the Warriors outscored Centre 12-9 to take an early three-point advantage.
In the second quarter, Marion really got going offensively, rattling off 20 points to the Cougars' seven prior to intermission.
It looked as though Marion would cruise to their 10th win. But the Cougars kept things interesting from behind the arc. In the third quarter, Centre closed the margin to 16 by matching Marion's 15-point performance. The score heading into the final quarter was 47-31.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors responded to the late-third quarter run by the Cougars by outscoring them 13-8 for the eventual 21-point win.
Marion shot 44 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from the three-point line. The Warriors shot just under 60 percent from the charity stripe for the game going 8-for-14.
Nickolas Hett led the Warriors in scoring with 15 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. The speedy senior guard was 6-for-13 from the field, 2-for-6 from the three-point line, and 50 percent from the free-throw line. Jared Hett had nine points, three assists, a pair of rebounds and steals, and four deflections to complement Hett's 15-point performance. Seniors Joe Svitak and Clayton Chamberland each had eight points in the victory. Svitak pulled down a team-high nine boards, while Chamberland added five.
Prior to Tuesday's contest against Wichita Independent Panthers, the Warriors were 10-4 overall and 6-0 in the Cottonwood Valley League. Marion travels to Herington Friday night to battle the Railers. The following day, the Warriors will host Sacred Heart (a game rescheduled because of foul weather a week ago).
