Basketball: Marion boys hold off NEWCHAA

MARION — The Marion High School basketball teams split a pair of games with Northeast Wisconsin Christian Homeschoolers Athletic Association (NEWCHAA) on Tuesday at the Marion School District fieldhouse.

The Marion boys hung on late for a 39-37 win over NEWCHAA, while the Marion girls suffered a 44-38 loss.

Boys claim low-scoring battle

The boys matchup between Marion and NEWCHAA was a back-and-forth battle throughout, with the deficit for either team never going above six points.

Marion went on an 8-0 run about halfway through the opening half, with a 3-pointer from junior Branden Beechy giving the hosts a 14-8 advantage.

NEWCHAA was able to close the deficit to two by halftime and then opened the second half with an 8-0 run of its own to go up 26-20.

Marion senior Cody Clegg knocked down a 3-pointer for the team’s first points of the second half at about the 13:15 mark before a bucket from senior Collin Haas brought the Mustangs within one. NEWCHAA responded with the next four points, but Marion countered with another basket from Haas and a triple from Beechy to knot the score at 30.

Clegg then knocked down his second triple of the half, but the visitors converted a three-point play to tie the game again. Haas and sophomore Ethan Scheef each converted baskets for the Mustangs before the Eagles scored the next basket.

After a Marion timeout, Beechy converted a contested layup off a great pass from Clegg for the host’s final points of the contest.

NEWCHAA got within two points after a Marion turnover led to a layup, and Marion was unable to convert from the free-throw line to put the game away, but the visitors missed a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, allowing Marion to escape with the win.

“I think we just did a good job of executing down the stretch. We were patient on the offensive end, the last few minutes especially,” said Marion coach Dave Roe. “We didn’t panic too much when we got pressured.”

The win was Marion’s second in a row, giving the team some positive momentum as the playoffs loom.

“I think it (winning a close game) shows that when we’re all focused in and playing hard like we can, we can be a dangerous team that goes out and wins some games,” said Marion senior Jared Krueger, who scored seven points in the first half and provided some strong defense in the closing minutes.

NEWCHAA 18 19 — 37

Marion 20 19 — 39

Marion (39): Collin Haas 0-0 8, Ethan Tischauser 0-0 4, Jared Krueger 1-1 7, Ethan Scheef 0-0 2, Branden Beechy 0-1 12, Cody Clegg 0-0 6.

NEWCHAA (37): David Nelson 0-0 3, Nathan Blean 0-0 2, Sam Brautigam 0-0 14, Jacob Koski 4-4 12, Connor Stevens 0-0 6.

Marion girls can’t keep rhythm

The girls matchup between Marion and NEWCHAA was also a tight game throughout, but after Marion senior Tessa Brei fouled out with 11 minutes to play, the hosts weren’t able to keep pace.

Brei scored six points in the first five minutes of the game to help Marion out to a 13-4 lead.

The Mustangs then went scoreless for the next six-plus minutes, allowing NEWCHAA to get within three points. Brei broke the scoreless drought with a 3-pointer, but the visitors tallied the game’s next six points to tie it at 16.

“Turnovers. We struggle a lot with turnovers and having confidence in our ability to make strong passes. That’s been our struggle all season,” said Brei of what happened during the scoreless drought. “Those times in between the good have gotten smaller and we’ve had longer periods where we were able to be confident and strong with our passes.”

A triple from senior Kyla Zillmer sparked a 12-6 run in the final four minutes of the half for Marion. Brei scored seven of the points, while Zillmer had the other five.

Marion looked to have control, but three first-half fouls for Brei loomed large. The senior was then tagged with her fourth foul just 39 seconds into the second half, forcing her to the bench.

By the time Brei returned to the game with 14:55 to play, Marion was trailing 29-28.

Zillmer knocked down a 3-pointer before Brei hit a triple with just over 12 minutes to go to put Marion up 35-33, but NEWCHAA tallied the next four points to take the lead before Brei fouled out at the 11-minute mark.

The Mustangs didn’t score again until a free throw at the 7:24 mark and then went scoreless until the 2:45 mark.

“I would say yes (to if having Brei foul out changed the outcome of the game). Just our inexperience in that situation, not having that senior leadership on the court really hurt us,” said Marion coach Brad Fischer.

NEWCHAA 22 22 — 44

Marion 28 10 — 38

NEWCHAA (44): Macy Rogers 3-6 17, Madison Rasku 0-2 4, Claire Willis 0-0 2, Grace Lundin 0-0 4, Brenna Newdiger 0-1 14, Elena McKenzie 0-3 0, Sofia Vargas 1-2 3.

Marion (38): Callie Miller 1-2 3, Dacotah Yonker 0-1 0, Morgan Krueger 0-2 2, Kelsey Zillmer 2-4 6, Kyla Zillmer 0-1 8, Tessa Brei 0-0 19.