Monarch senior Jack Christian drives to the basket Friday evening against Thomas Worthington. Christian scored 19 points during MHS’ season-opening 60-52 loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
It’s been a couple of weeks in the making, but the Marysville High School boys varsity basketball squad finally played its first game of the 2020-21 season on Friday.
The Monarchs’ campaign has been delayed due to COVID-19.
The contest didn’t go as well as the Monarchs had hoped as they dropped a 60-52 verdict to Thomas Worthington.
Marysville head coach Ryan Grose, though, said he saw a lot of what he expects this year from his team.
“The guys played extremely hard and it was fun to be back out on the court,” he said.
The Monarchs found themselves down, 20-9, after the opening quarter.
The Cardinals jumped out to that lead, based partially on the strength of a pair of three-pointers by Jalen Sullinger.
Caleb Miller also dialed in a shot from beyond the arc as Thomas Worthington had the opening stanza well in hand.
The Cardinals’ lead wasn’t nearly as comfortable during the ensuing period.
Evan Brown got things started for the Monarchs when he joined in the three-point parade.
A stickback by freshman Jason Moore narrowed MHS’ gap to 22-17.
A couple of minutes later, Riley Karnes swished a jumper from downtown, bringing the Monarchs to within 22-20.
The Cardinals maintained two-to-four point leads as the second quarter wound down.
Karnes tripled in another jumper, pulling Marysville to within 28-27 with 1:12 left on the first-half timer.
Kerwin Williams scored, giving the visitors a little more breathing room at 30-27.
Garrett Taylor, though, hit a bucket with 23 ticks on the clock.
That shot sliced MHS’ deficit to 30-27 at the turn.
Taylor scored twice to knot the game at 33-33 about three minutes into the third stanza.
Jack Christian, who was playing with three fouls, scored on a twisting drive to the basket with 3:12 on the clock.
The Monarch senior was fouled on the play.
He hit a free throw to cut TW’s upper hand to 39-36.
The Cardinals were put in the bonus when Joey Zalewski was fouled on a scramble for a loose ball.
His free throws staked Worthington to a 41-36 lead.
Christian stepped up big time after several exchanges in possession.
He tickled the twine on a three-pointer that narrowed MHS’ deficit to 41-39.
Neither team could cash in on late possessions.
As a result, Worthington carried its two-point lead (41-39) into the fourth quarter.
Ryan Barlow of MHS tied the game at 41-all with a bucket early in the final stanza.
Maurice Collins, though, returned a 44-41 spread to Worthington with a three-pointer.
The Monarchs never regained the lead.
They missed several shots in the paint and committed a number of turnovers.
The Cardinals climbed back to a 54-44 lead with a little more than two minutes to play.
Christian, despite playing in precarious foul trouble, kept the Monarchs in the game before eventually fouling out.
He sank a pair of free throws and converted a steal into a trifecta that pulled MHS to within 54-49.
The Monarchs, however, could get no closer than six points over the next minute-plus of the contest.
The Cardinals, who had preferred an up-tempo game over the first three quarters, began to slow down and took the air out of the ball.
Time was not on the Monarchs’ side and as such, they were forced to foul and stop the clock.
Thomas Worthington, which hit 15-of-22 from the charity stripe for the game, secured the win down the stretch at the line.
The Cardinals sank eight-of-13 during the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
The Monarchs, on the other hand, attempted only seven free throws and connected on five.
“At the end of the day, it came down to giving up a couple of offensive rebounds and turning the ball over a few times,” said Grose.
“However, we battled back from that big deficit in the first quarter,” he said. “That’s the type of fight we need this season.”
The Monarchs will play at Hilliard Darby this evening
Thomas Worthington
Sullinger 6-8-23, Collins 5-2-14, Zalewski 2-3-7, Effiong 2-1-6, Williams 2-1-5, Miller 1-0-3, Hughey 1-0-2, Moore 0-0-0. Totals 19-15-60.
Three-point goals: Sullinger 3, Collins 2, Effiong 1, Miller 1.
Marysville
Christian 6-4-19, Taylor 5-1-11, Karnes 3-0-9, Barlow 3-0-6, Moore 2-0-4, Brown 1-0-3, Focht 0-0-0. Totals 20-5-52.
Three-point goals: Christian 3, Karnes 3, Brown 1.
Marysville’s JV A squad dropped a 50-45 verdict to the Cardinals.
Connor Smith led the team with 12 points.
The JV B team downed Thomas Worthington, 50-32.
Merrick Reynolds tallied 15 points for the Monarchs.