Marshall Francisco of Marysville leaps for a shot while an Upper Arlington defender attempts to block him. Francisco tallied eight points during the Monarchs’ 72-38 loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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The Marysville Monarchs had their hands full Friday night against the 18-1 Golden Bears of Upper Arlington.
The state-ranked Bears came out roaring and there was little the Monarchs could do except try and hold on as Upper Arlington won, 72-38, on MHS’ Hall of Fame night.
MHS coach Ryan Grose chalked up the loss to Marysville’s lack of half-court pressure.
“I thought our half-court defense… we did what we wanted to do,” he said. “The problem is that we didn’t play enough half-court defense in the first half because we didn’t get back to even play half-court defense with our transition.”
The Monarchs struggled to find any lanes against the quick Golden Bears’ man-to-man defense.
The lack of options forced Bodie Eberhart to take long shots to keep the game close. Eberhart was able to land two treys, while Phillip Hughes and Jacob Ranker worked the glass for several offensive rebounds. Despite the efforts, the Golden Bears took a 25-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Eberhart continued his solid shooting in the second quarter with a trey, but the Monarchs struggled to find much else in the way of offense.
Marysville’s defense continued to struggle to keep the Golden Bears.
As a result, UA widened the gap to 45-20 at halftime.
“We took some tough shots that resulted in us not sprinting back,” said Grose. “They (the Golden Bears) were off and running and getting easy lay-ups.
“That was probably 12 or 14 points in the first half,” he said. “You just can’t do that against a team like Upper Arlington.”
The third quarter saw the Monarchs made some adjustments in order to work the ball inside on more possessions.
Marshall Francisco was on the receiving end of several entry passes and scored a couple of baskets.
The Monarchs racked up 10 points during the eight-minute stretch.
Even though the Monarchs were able to slow down UA a bit, the gap stood at 59-30.
“We’ve got to recognize in the first few minutes of play how they are guarding,” said Grose. “We didn’t really switch until the second half and by that point, it is too late.”
The final quarter was just a formality, as the Monarchs couldn’t close the gap that was set earlier in the game.
MHS (8-11) will return to action on Tuesday by hosting Delaware Hayes during Senior night.
Grose said the game should be a tight battle and there is a good chance to get a win for his seniors.
“Delaware is a team that has an identical record to us,” he added. “It is usually a really good game. We get a good crowd and I would like to finish at home with a win with the seniors.”
Upper Arlington
Goodwin 7-9-23, Martz 6-2-15, Rushin 4-0-10, Graboval 3-0-8, Sass 3-2-8, Jones 2-0-5, Karsatos 1-0-2, Keethler 0-1-1. Totals 26-14-72.
Three-point goals: Rushin 2, Graboval 2, Martz 1, Jones 1.
Marysville
Eberhart 5-0-13, Ranker 3-3-9, Francisco 3-0-6, Christian 2-2-6, Hughes 1-0-2, Schaeffer 1-0-2. Totals 15-5-38.
Three-point goals: Eberhart 3.