MHS’ Jack Christian (4) goes up for a shot against Westerville South on Monday. Christian reached the 1,000 point milestone for his varsity career during the game. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
A scoring milestone was reached Monday afternoon when Marysville High School’s varsity boys basketball squad tangled with Westerville South.
The Monarchs played the second game of a matinee twinbill that pitted MHS’ varsity girls and boys teams against those of the Wildcats.
The MHS boys dropped a 52-40 verdict, but not before Monarch senior Jack Christian hit 1,000 points for his high school career.
Christian, who went into the contest with 988 points, reached that lofty 1,000 mark when he dribbled around a screen during the third quarter and swished a trifecta.
That not only placed him in an elite category, but also reduced Marysville’s deficit to 34-23.
The second half proved to be much more successful for the Monarchs.
“We hit some shots during the second half that we couldn’t during the first half,” said MHS head coach Ryan Grose.
The Wildcats, who are known for their “in-your-face” defensive pressure, made things miserable for MHS during the first half.
The Wildcats’ defense limited the Monarchs to just 12 first-half points – three of which were scored during the second quarter.
The Wildcats held a 19-9 lead after the opening quarter and took a 29-12 margin at the halftime break.
South tallied a good portion of its first-half points by swishing eight of its 11 trifectas.
Grose was much more pleased with his team’s play after the break.
“We took better care of the basketball,” he said. “South forces you into bad decisions with its defense, but we handled their pressure better.”
Christian buried three consecutive three-balls, the third of which allowed him to reach the 1,000 mark.
Christian shot the Monarchs back into a game that looked as though it could get way out of control.
Evan Brown nailed a jumper and Jason Moore scored on a traditional three-point play.
That pulled MHS to within 36-28 with 1:40 left on the third quarter clock.
Jaden Guice later broke away for a dunk that pushed South out to a 41-28 margin.
Christian, however, put up a shot in traffic and pulled Marysville to within 41-30 by the end of the quarter.
The Wildcats were interested in a quick transition game during the first half.
As the fourth quarter began, they were more concerned with working the clock and keeping MHS from scoring opportunities.
South was methodical in its offense, but hit several clutch baskets.
As such, the Cats elevated their lead to 48-34 with slightly more than four minutes left to play.
MHS, however, could not reduce its gap to less than double digits in falling to 1-3 on the season.
Westerville South
Carter 8-0-21, Guice 7-0-18, Ortiz 1-0-3, Winston 1-0-3, Pedrozo 1-1-3, Cunningham 1-0-2, Brittman 1-0-2. Totals 20-1-52.
Three-point goals: Carter 4, Guice 4, Ortiz 1,Winston 1.
Marysville
Christian 5-4-18, Brown 3-0-7, Taylor 2-0-4, Barlow 1-1-3, Karnes 1-0-3, Moore 1-1-3, Fourman 1-0-2, Tocci 0-0-0, Focht 0-0-0, Hamilton 0-0-0. Allen 0-0-0. D. Johnson 0-0-0. Totals 14-6-40.
Three-point goals: Christian 4, Brown 1, Karnes 1.