Marysville’s boys basketball team dug itself out of a 19-5 hole early in the second quarter and battled with Upper Arlington for most of the MHS Homecoming contest on Friday.
“I was happy with the way we competed,” said MHS head coach Ryan Grose. “We were able to fight back well during the second quarter.”
The Monarchs (8-11) took an early 3-2 edge on a three-pointer by Bodie Eberhart.
The Golden Bears, however, took control of the game’s tempo with their slower-placed, half-court offense.
Upper Arlington kept passing the ball around the perimeter until it was able to find high percentage shots.
Max Martz played a big role in the Bears’ offense during the initial period.
He tallied seven of his game-high 31 points and dished an assist to C.J. Karsatos for a bucket that sent UA into the ensuing stanza with a 15-5 advantage.
Martz and Karsatos nailed early baskets to push the Golden Bears out to a 14-point lead.
At that point, the visitors went cold from the field and allowed the Monarchs to climb back into contention.
Eberhart broke MHS’ dry spell with a basket and Jack Christian knocked down a three-pointer.
Garrett Taylor got a couple of shots to drop as the Monarchs pulled to within 19-14 with a little more than two minutes left in the half.
Eberhart drilled a three-ball that closed the gap to 19-17 with 38.7 ticks on the timer.
Karsatos ended UA’s scoring drought with a basket that pushed the Golden Bears out to a 21-17 halftime margin.
The Monarchs (who will travel to Dublin Scioto on Tuesday) kept taking the fight to Upper Arlington during the third quarter.
Karsatos gave his team a 23-17 margin early in the stanza, but a basket by Christian and a pair of charity tosses by Eberhart narrowed the spread to 23-21.
MHS stayed within two and three points over the next several minutes until Christian’s trifecta tied the score at 29-all.
A basket from Marysville’s Gabe Schaeffer later knotted the game at 31-31.
Martz scored along the baseline, while Josh Rushin got past MHS defenders for baskets that stretched UA’s lead to 37-31.
Another three-ball from Christian chopped down the deficit, but buckets by Karsatos and Miles Erickson gave the Golden Bears some breathing room at 41-34.
Martz and Karsatos went to the hoop a few more times as Upper Arlington took a 49-39 lead into the final eight minutes of action.
Marysville applied additional full-court pressure against the Golden Bears, but the visitors weren’t bothered too much by the tactic.
Karsatos got a soft hook shot to fall before Phillip Hughes buried a three-ball for the Monarchs.
A free throw by Karsatos, who tallied 21 points for the night, gave Upper Arlington a double-digit lead it did not relinguish.
A stickback by Karsatos pushed UA out to a 58-44 advantage with a little more than three minutes left to play.
An old-school three-point play from Eberhart, who led MHS with 23 points, knocked the spread down to 61-49.
Karsatos’ dunk gave the Bears a 65-49 margin and the visitors coasted to the win.
“We had to speed up the game for Upper Arlington with our pressure defense, but they handled it well and exposed us,” said Grose. “We made some errors, including missed free throws, and you can’t have that happen against a team like Upper Arlington.
“They will make you pay for it.”
Upper Arlington
Martz 12-7-31, Karsatos 10-1-21, Rushin 5-1-11, Sass 2-0-4, Corna 1-0-2, Erickson 1-0-2, Hargraves 0-0-0, Robbins 0-0-0. Totals 31-9-71.
Marysville
Eberhart 9-3-23, Christian 6-0-15, Taylor 3-1-7, Hughes 2-0-5, Schaeffer 1-0-2, Duke 0-1-1, Mills 0-0-0. T. Karnes 0-0-0, Brown 0-0-0, Siefring 0-0-0, R. Karnes 0-0-0. Totals 21-5-53.
Three-point goals: Christian 3, Eberhart 2, Hughes 1.
Marysville’s jayvees opened the evening with a 50-41 victory.
Gabe Powers led the Jr. Monarchs with 10 points.