In the above photo, Marysville’s Jack Christian (4) eyes the basket despite defensive pressure from a pair of Groveport-Madison players. Christian was fouled on the play. In the bottom photo, Jason Moore, left, of Marysville is boxed out trying to stretch for a rebound. MHS held off the Cruisers during the Division I tournament opener on Tuesday. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller)
Marysville High School boys basketball coach Ryan Grose exhaled a huge sigh of relief Tuesday evening.
The veteran bench boss noted his team has played games this season that haven’t been easy.
The Monarchs’ 53-48 Division I tournament victory over Groveport-Madison fell into that category.
On one hand, MHS didn’t shoot well from the field.
On the other, Marysville sealed the deal with its performance at the free throw line.
The Monarchs (14-8) cashed in on 21-of-28 charity tosses for the game, including 14-of-17 during the final quarter.
Although MHS didn’t have its best shooting night, Grose was happy with the way his squad handled the Cruisers’ rapid style of play.
“Grove City is a very athletic, quick team,” he said, noting the Cruisers like to speed up an opponent and force mistakes.
“I thought we handled their pressure pretty well,” he said. “We committed only 10 turnovers and that’s huge for us.”
Both teams came up with numerous empty possessions during the opening period.
The Cruisers held an early 6-2 lead on a basket from Scotty Lomax.
The Monarchs gradually came back on a pair of buckets by Garrett Taylor.
The 6-5 senior tied the game at 6-6 with 1:28 on the timer.
He then scored on the offensive glass for an 8-6 edge the Monarchs took into the ensuing quarter.
Kade Focht made a strong baseline move that shoved MHS’ spread to 10-6.
The Monarchs, however, had difficulty finding the hoop over the next few minutes.
The Cruisers later knotted the score at 11-all when Duane Davis swished a trifecta.
Neither squad’s offense set the world on fire during the remainder of the second stanza.
Groveport took a 13-11 lead when Marlow Elliott Jr. scored in transition.
A stickback from Kenyotta Whiteside gave the visitors a 15-12 lead with 2:45 left until the break.
MHS’ Evan Brown knocked down a three-pointer that tied the contest at 15-all.
The Cruisers notched back-to-back shots from Davis and Lomax in climbing to a 19-15 lead.
After swift swaps in possessions, Marysville’s Ryan Barlow was sent to the charity stripe.
His free throws with 4.7 seconds left pulled the Monarchs to within 19-17 at the turn.
Taylor and Jack Christian jump-started Marysville’s offense at the beginning of the third set.
Taylor went to the hoop on consecutive possessions, pushing MHS out to a 21-19 lead.
“Garrett had some good looks at the basket in the first half, but they didn’t fall,” said Grose. “We just told him to keep shooting when he had the chance.”
Christian converted a steal and a loose ball pickup into shots that stretched the Monarchs’ lead to 27-21.
Taylor and Christian went to the basket again as MHS climbed to a 31-24 advantage.
That lead, however, could by no means be considered safe.
Groveport-Madison pulled to within 31-28 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
Christian was later fouled while driving the lane.
He made one of his charity tosses.
In doing so, he gave MHS a 32-28 edge by the end of the period.
Christian’s “bulldog” attitude came into play during the final eight minutes of action.
The senior ended several possessions with strong drives to the basket.
The Cruisers fouled him on a number of those moves.
Christian, who sank 12-of-15 free throws for the night, knocked in several clutch charity tosses during the quarter.
“Jack was very aggressive in getting to the free throw line,” said Grose.
The pesky Cruisers, though, did not go quietly into the night.
They stayed within one and three points for a good share of the quarter.
Brown drilled a shot from beyond the arc to pad MHS’ lead at 42-38 with less than three minutes to play.
Davis’ shot narrowed GM’s gap to 42-40 at the 2:45 mark.
Christian’s jumper and a free throw by Taylor gave Marysville a bit of breathing room at 45-40 with 1:32 on the timer.
A trifecta from Abubarek Diallo, however, sliced that margin to 45-43.
MHS was in the double bonus when Brown was fouled.
He was spot-on with both free throws for a 47-43 Monarch lead.
Groveport kept Monarch Nation on the edge of its seats when Diallo nailed another trey to cut MHS’ lead to 47-46 with 39.4 seconds to play.
The Cruisers had to foul the Monarchs to stop the timer.
Barlow upped MHS’ lead to 49-46 with two free throws.
Groveport missed a couple shots during the waning seconds of the game.
At the other end of the floor, Christian made four free throws for a 53-46 MHS lead.
Diallo hit a consolation basket to end the game.
The Monarchs will return to tourney action on Friday.
They will travel to Newark for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Marysville
Christian 6-12-24, Taylor 6-1-13, Barlow 1-4-7, Brown 1-2-5, Focht 1-1-3, Moore 0-1-1, Karnes 0-0-0. Totals 15-21-53.
Three-point goals: Barlow 1, Brown 1.
Grove City
Diallo 4-2-13, Davis 6-0-13, Lomax 4-0-8, Holmes 2-0-6, Whiteside 2-0-4, Sanfo 1-0-2, Elliott 1-0-2, Friedman 0-0-0, Evans 0-0-0. Totals 20-2-48.
Three-point goals: Diallo 3, Holmes 2, Davis 1.