Photo by Jake Przytarski Marshall’s Josh Baker shoots a jumper during their Section 2AAA championship game against Mankato West on Friday. Marshall fell to Mankato West 52-47.

MANKATO – A resilient effort put forth by the No. 7 ranked Marshall boys basketball team came up just short on Friday in the Section 2AAA championship game as top-seeded Mankato West used its physicality inside to win the battle of the boards and defeat the third-seeded Tigers 52-47.

The loss moves the Tigers to a final record of 17-4 for the 2020-2021 season.

Though the Tigers were unable to make it back-to-back seasons earning the section crown, coach Travis Carroll couldn’t be prouder of his team for their focus and drive exhibited throughout an unprecedented season with the seniors setting the example each and every day.

“Our team chemistry was awesome this year and that starts with our seniors. They were great leaders on the floor and they were great leaders off the floor,” said Carroll. “They did a great job of encouraging our underclassmen each and every day, they were just such a great group of seniors that are going to be missed so much. It’s just really difficult to say goodbye to these players.”

From the beginning of the season to the end, Carroll says the team never underestimated the work it would take to make it back to the section finals and worked every day to make that goal a reality.

“To have the situation that we had occur a year ago, it was easy to say, ‘yeah we’re going to get back to the section championship game, but you just don’t do that,” said Carroll. “You have to come in and put in the work and our kids came in on the first day and they started putting in the work right away at the beginning of the season and each day they continued to improve throughout the season. To work through all of the different things that we had with this year and all of the health concerns that we have each and every day around us, our kids did a great job with those situations. To get back to the section championship just shows amazing resiliency by our kids and it starts with our seniors and our senior leadership.”

In the early goings of Friday’s matchup, the Scarlets held the upper hand thanks to a strong shooting display from beyond the arc that helped them open up a 13-8 lead with the Tigers in need of an answer to curb the momentum. Beginning with a basket by Charlie Jacobson, the Tigers clawed their way back to make it 14-13 with leading scorer Bryce Lance and Brevin Runia contributing timely baskets. The run was short-lived, however, as the Scarlets closed out the half on a 17-8 run to make it 31-23 at the break.

With the Scarlets controlling the game inside, Carroll made it a point of emphasis to limit their post-presence and came away pleased with their effort in the second half.

“We struggled containing their posts in the first half and it was definitely an emphasis heading in to the second half trying to limit what they were getting for points inside,” said Carroll. “I thought our guys did a much better job in the second half defending near the basket, but their posts were very physical you know great basketball team.”

After the Scarlets extended their lead to double digits with the opening basket of the second half, the court began to tip to Marshall’s favor as the Tigers went on to narrow the gap to four points after a basket by Lance made it 35-31. Marshall’s offense continued to put the pressure on West with multiple clutch baskets, but the Scarlets had an answer for nearly every one of them to maintain their lead midway through the half.

Down the stretch with the game still within Marshall’s reach, Josh Baker delivered a timely 3-pointer to bring the Tigers to within three points of tying the Scarlets at 48-45 with two and half minutes left to play. Marshall had its chances to even the score moments later, but the Scarlets held on in a 52-47 final.

No stats were available at press time.