Warriors win one, lose one
Sports reporter
The two games Marion High School boys' basketball team played this past week were nearly identical.
Fortunately for MHS, the second one did not end up like the first.
Ellinwood's Ethan Thomas nailed a wide open three-pointer Friday to defeat Marion 59-58, and send the Warriors to 1-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association.
In a makeup game Saturday against Lyons (which did not count toward league standings), Warrior Justin Heidebrecht played the role of Thomas, hitting a three-pointer from the left corner with 1.4 seconds left, giving Marion a 59-56 victory.
The games were eerily similar.
Both winning teams scored 59 points, and the final score of both teams was different by just two points.
Against Ellinwood, MHS was just 1-15 from three-point range while the Eagles were 8-21.
Against Lyons, MHS was 7-19 and the Lions were 1-9.
Both teams connected on 23 total shots in the Ellinwood game, and 22 in Saturday's game.
But for MHS fans, the only shot that really mattered was Heidebrecht's.
The ball bounced on the rim once before hitting the backboard, and bounced on the rim two more times before falling through the net.
"It kind of scared me, but shooter's touch, and it went in," Heidebrecht said with a laugh.
The shot was vindication for Heidebrecht, who was 0-8 from three-point range against Ellinwood, and scored just seven points.
"Tonight he was 0-8, but tomorrow he probably goes 5-8," head coach Rex Ostmeyer said after the Ellinwood loss.
His prediction was close.
The final three gave the senior a game-high 18 points, and made him 4-9 from behind the line.
Heidebrecht, who said he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn Friday, was happy to see the shot go in.
"I just kind of calmed myself down before the game and decided to play my game," he said. "I came out and just started shooting."
Although he missed his first two three-pointers against Lyons, he nailed his third attempt in the first minute of the second quarter with Marion down 9-2, and another just 45 seconds later to make the score 11-8.
Eric Vogel's put back layup closed the gap to 13-10, but Lyons ended the quarter on a 15-7 run and led 28-17 at halftime.
But it was MHS who made a run in the third quarter off an Isaac Hett put back layup, and another Vogel put back and free throw.
Calvin Jeffrey's three-pointer tied the game at 32, and another tied it at 40 with 50 seconds left in the quarter.
Jeffrey tied the game with a layup for a third time at 42, and the scoring would go back and forth the rest of the game.
The final tie came with 40 seconds left when Lyons' Payton Griffit scored his 15th and 16th points on a jumper, knotting the game at 56.
Marion held the ball until Jeffrey tried a runner from the middle of the lane that bounced of the rim.
He then hauled in his sixth offensive rebound of the night, and found Heidebrecht in the corner for his seventh assist.
Isaac Hett led the team with 14 rebounds, including eight offensive, to go along with nine points and two steals.
Heidebrecht had eight rebounds to go along with his 18 points, and
Chase Carlson was 4-4 from the free-throw line.
The team was 8-10 from the line, and 19-26 during the two games.
"It was a good game for us," Jeffrey said after the team improved to 3-5 overall.
Especially after losing the Ellinwood game that seemed to be in hand throughout for the Warriors.
The Warriors led by seven in the third quarter, and Elliot Hett's free throw with 21 seconds left gave them a 58-56 lead.
However, Thomas found himself open and made the shot.
"That's just the way it goes sometimes," Ostmeyer said.
Jeffrey led the team with 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Carlson was second with nine points and five steals.
Heidebrecht had eight rebounds and Issac Hett and four points and six rebounds.
MHS is now preparing for its fourth home game in a row Friday against Hoisington.
The Cardinals lost this past week 60-46 against Hillsboro.
