Monarch senior Bodie Eberhart goes up for two of his team-high 22 points against Olentangy on Tuesday. The Monarchs fell, 80-76.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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Things were looking mighty bleak for Marysville High School’s boys basketball team during Tuesday’s game against Olentangy.
The Monarchs had played a very strong first half and held a 37-33 lead at the turn against a Braves team that brought a 12-9 record into the contest.
Things soured for MHS during the third quarter as Olentangy’s Sean Marks burned the ropes for 14 of his game-high 30 points.
A 16-2 Olentangy run left Marysville down 55-41 and had Monarch Nation worried.
The Monarchs rallied for a 16-2 run of their own, but in the end fell short of the Braves by a 80-76 margin.
“I thought we put together a very good first half,” said MHS coach Ryan Grose after his team closed out the regular season with an 8-14 record. “We were aggressive and we controlled Marks pretty well.
“We got careless with the ball during the third quarter and let Marks get open for a couple of easy ones (shots),” said the coach. “That got him going.”
The Monarchs put together a strong first quarter. They moved and shared the ball well as three-pointers from Garrett Taylor staked them to a 14-6 lead with 2:28 remaining in the stanza.
Bodie Eberhart drove the lane for a bucket that pushed MHS out to a 16-9 lead.
Marks, though, hit a jumper that pulled the visitors to within five by the end of the quarter.
The Braves sliced four points off their deficit to open the ensuing period.
Baskets from Phillips Hughes and Taylor gave Marysville a bit of breathing room at 22-17 near the midway portion of the stanza.
Olentangy went on a quick 5-0 run to knot the score at 22, but Eberhart broke the stalemate with a basket.
The Monarchs’ lead did not last for long.
Alex Sieve sank a pair of charity tosses to tie the game and Marks drilled a three-pointer for a 27-24 Olentangy margin.
Joey Duke responded with a three-ball of his own to tie the game at 27-all.
The Braves regained a 29-27 edge on Josiah Seymour’s stickback.
Caleb Steele lofted in a jumper that put Olentangy up by four with 1:30 on the first-half timer.
Eberhart drove the lane against severeal Brave defenders, scored and drew a foul.
He completed the old-school three-point play with a free throw that narrowed MHS’ deficit to 31-30.
Jack Christian knocked down a late trifecta and Eberhart converted a steal into a layup that sent the Monarchs into the turn with their 37-33 lead.
Baskets from Marks and Sieve tied the game at 37, but Eberhart’s shot gave Marysville a 39-37 edge.
Marks tied the game once again at 39 and started the Braves on their roll.
By the time Marks scored and sank an ensuing free throw, the Braves held what seemed like a commanding 55-41 advantage.
Hughes led Marysville’s resurgence as he buried a pair of three-pointers.
Spencer Mills took a page from Eberhart’s play book and converted a traditional three-point play to narrow the Monarchs’ gap to 57-51 by the end of the quarter.
Hughes, MHS’ 6-6 post player, knocked down his third trifecta and was fouled on the play.
His free throw pulled Marysville to within 57-55 with a rare four-point play.
“Phillip is a very capable shooter,” said Grose.
Eberhart drove the lane for a basket to cap the Monarchs’ own 16-2 run and tie the game at 57-57.
A shot by Gabe Schaeffer later tied the game again for MHS at 59-all.
The Braves began to put some distance between themselves and the Monarchs.
They took a 63-59 lead on a basket by Noah Gossett.
Christian converted a steal into a shot that narrowed the gap to 65-63 with just under four minutes to play.
The Braves later climbed to a 70-63 spread and began milking the clock on ensuing possessions.
Eberhart, though, scored on an assist from Hughes to pull to MHS within 74-68.
Christian later connected on a three-pointer to slice the deficit to 77-73 with less than 30 seconds to play.
However, with time on the Braves’ side, the Monarchs had to foul along the way in order to stop the clock.
Olentangy missed only two of its 18 attempts during the final quarter.
The Braves’ proficiency at the charity stripe kept the Monarchs at bay.
Marysville will play its first Division I tournament game on Saturday, 7 p.m., at Columbus Walnut Ridge.
Olentangy
Marks 9-10-30, Sieve 3-7-13, Steele 6-0-13, Riedel 2-5-9, Gossett 1-6-8, Seymour 3-1-7, James 0-0-0, Hennegan 0-0-0. Totals 24-29-80.
Three-point goals: Marks 2, Gossett 2, Steele 1.
Marysville
Eberhart 10-2-22, Hughes 5-2-15, Taylor 5-1-13, Duke 4-0-11, Christian 4-0-10, Mills 1-1-3, Schaeffer 1-0-2. Totals 30-6-76.
Three-point goals: Hughes 3, Duke 3, Taylor 2, Christian 2.
MHS’ jayvee team won the preliminary game, 78-51.
Riley Karnes poured in 26 points, while Ryan Barlow added 14.