PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Tough shooting outing hurts Marshall in 70-45 loss to Waseca
MARSHALL — The No. 7 Marshall boys basketball team only had two losses on the season entering Friday, both coming at the hands of the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA, Waseca. Looking to avenge those losses, Marshall and Waseca faced each other for the third time, but the Bluejays held MHS to a shooting percentage of just 35.2% (19 of 54), including 2 of 14 from the 3-point line in a 70-45 loss.
The win also secured the Big South Conference championship for the Bluejays, who move to 16-1 on the season.
Marshall coach Travis Carroll said despite the outcome, he felt they did a good job of bringing the energy defensively early on, but they weren’t able to capitalize on their opportunities on the offensive end and had some mistakes on defense throughout the second half.
“We came out and defended at a high level to begin the game and I thought our guys had a lot of energy to start defensively and were executing what we were looking to do on defense. Our offensive struggles looked like it seemed to affect us defensively where we started having more breakdowns on the defensive end of the floor, primarily probably because we were struggling on offense and just couldn’t find the answers offensively,” Carroll said. “We missed some opportunities on offense but continued to run through the offense to find some looks; we did have some open looks that didn’t fall down and that combination made it a tough game for us. Our kids worked hard, it wasn’t for a lack of effort, we just need to execute better, whether it’s what we’re trying to do offensively or defensively finishing possessions by boxing out, rebounding and communicating. Those are areas we need to continue to improve in as we move forward.”
It was a back and forth start, with Waseca holding an early 5-2 lead before Charlie Jacobson got a layup to make it 7-4 with 13 minutes left in the first half. The two sides traded points over the next few minutes before Waseca connected on a 3-pointer and later a layup to push its lead to double digits at 20-10 with 6:37 to go in the frame. Marshall would get back within single digits on a jumper from Chase Douglas, but the Bluejays answered with a small run to take a 30-14 lead with 1:50 left and ultimately a 32-18 advantage at halftime.
Looking for some momentum, Marshall saw Waseca open the second half with five straight points before Josh Baker connected on a 3-pointer to get MHS on the board. Marshall wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, with layups from Bryce Lance and Jacobson getting them to within 17 at 46-29 with 13 minutes left, but Waseca quickly answered with a 3-pointer to go back up 20.
The Bluejays would continue to lead by at least 20 for the remainder of the game, going up 24 with a 3-pointer with under six minutes to play en route to the 70-45 final.
Carroll said they needed to do a better job of communicating on defense, particularly in the second half, as well as reading what Waseca was doing defensively when they were on offense and find the right opportunities.
“Defensively we were trying to throw some things at them to slow them down a little bit and we did a good job of that the first six to eight minutes of the game. As the game went on, we had some breakdowns, especially in the second half with our communication on defense to where they’re getting uncontested shots and you can’t give uncontested shots to a team like Waseca because they’re a very good offensive basketball team,” Carroll said. “On our offensive end, we needed to do a better job of reading what the defense was doing when we attacked the basket and taking what they are giving us and be willing to find those opportunities within our offense.”
Lance led Marshall with 14 points while Jacobson added eight and Baker had seven. Lance also led in rebounds (5) and assists (5) while Baker and Brevin Runia each added four rebounds.
Defensively, Marshall allowed Waseca to shoot 48.3% (28 of 58) from the field, with the Bluejays connecting on seven 3-pointers.
Up next
Marshall (14-3) will wrap up the regular season today on the road, facing Moorhead at 3 p.m. Carroll said they’ll look to hit the reset button and get some positive momentum going before the section tournament, but knows Moorhead will bring a challenge on both sides of the floor.
“Hopefully we can go out and get some positive momentum going. [Tonight] was a tough game for everyone all the way around and we have an opportunity to get some positive things going,” Carroll said. “Moorhead’s got a very good basketball team and defensively they’re going to get after us and challenge us to value the basketball and offensively they’ll look to get the ball down the floor fast and get some shots up quickly. It’s going to be a challenge for us and hopefully we can respond in a positive manner and get our momentum in a positive direction going into the tournament next week.”
Waseca 70, Marshall 45
Waseca 32 38 – 70
Marshall 18 27 – 45
Scoring: Marshall (Lance 6-14, 2-4 14; Jacobson 4-7, 0-0 8; Baker 3-9, 0-0 7; Douglas 2-11, 2-2 6; Wilts 2-5, 1-2 6; Kuecker 1-1, 0-0 2; Runia 1-4, 0-0 2).
Rebounds: Marshall 23 (Lance 5; Baker, Runia 4).
Assists: Marshall 9 (Lance 5; Douglas 3).
Steals: Marshall 2 (Baker, Wilts 1).
Blocks: Marshall none.