Marysville senior Kade Focht shoots a jumper against Harvest Prep. The forward tallied five points in the team’s loss to the Warriors.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Marysville fell in a hard-fought boys basketball contest against state-ranked Columbus Harvest Prep, 62-51.
The Warriors are currently rated as the No. 6 team in Division III by the Associated Press.
The Monarchs, though, challenged Harvest Prep in all facets of the game.
“Harvest Prep was a team we had to quickly prepare for,” MHS head coach Mark Tinklenberg said, as the game was a late addition to the schedule.
“I remembered their style from a few years ago.”
The Monarchs held their own in the battle, but it took some time before they had their feet under them.
Harvest Prep scored the first points on a three-point goal.
Marysville’s Jayson Moore tallied the first lay-up for the Monarchs as they attempted to keep up with the Warriors’ speed.
Harvest Prep’s Zyaun Hutson notched another three-point goal for the Warriors.
Marysville’s Ryker Bowden earned two free throws as MHS kept pace, trailing 6-4.
“They are very physical and very fast,” Tinklenberg said of the Warriors.
Harvest Prep took a 15-9 margin into the second quarter of action.
With approximately six minutes left in the second quarter, Marysville’s Dayne Johnson drew a foul and sank one charity toss.
Marysville rebounded on the missed free-throw before scoring.
That pulled MHS to within 20-17.
“It took us a while to get going in the first half,” Tinklenberg said.
Marysville fell behind 33-23 at halftime.
Johnson proved to be the Monarchs’ best scorer during that time. He notched three field goals and one free-throw for seven points.
Coming out of the intermission, Bowden connected on a deep three-point goal, cutting the Warriors’ lead to 33-26.
Around the five-and-a-half-minute mark in the third set, Moore hit a layup and ensuing free throw.
The traditional three-point play narrowed Marysville’s gap to 33-29.
“Our second-half response was very good,” Tinklenberg said.
The Monarchs continued to press the Warriors.
Nick Wever buried a three-pointer of his own and Marysville was knocking on the door, trailing 34-32.
Both teams exchanged the lead in the latter half of the third quarter.
The score was deadlocked at 40-all with time winding down.
Wever made his presence felt with another three-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter to put Marysville on top 43-40.
“We wanted to space them out with their pressure,” Tinklenberg said. “They are a team that forces you to go to the baseline.”
The last quarter saw Harvest Prep rally on the offensive end of the court.
The Warriors outscored MHS 22-8 to earn the victory.
Harvest Prep’s speed proved to be a huge factor in the Monarchs’ setback.
“Give them (the Warriors) credit… they made timely [three-pointers] tonight,” Tinklenberg said.
The Monarchs’ best scorer was Wever, who tallied five three-point goals for 15 points.
Johnson finished with 12.
In a very physical matchup, Marysville proved to be more fruitful at the line with an 88 percent free-throw average, compared to 77 percent from Harvest Prep.
“We were able to recover a little bit,” Tinklenberg said. “These kids are working really hard in practice.”
The Monarchs (8-11) will play at Dublin Scioto on Tuesday.
Marysville
Coil 0-0-0, Johnson 5-2-12, Wever 5-0-15, Allen 0-0-0, Bowden 1-2-4, Rausch 0-0-0, Focht 2-0-5, Moore 4-3-11, Thornton 2-0-4. Three-point goals: Wever 5, Focht.
Harvest Prep
Hutson 5-2-14, Oliver 4-0-9, Saunders 3-0-7, Roddy 2-4-9, Abrams 4-3-13, Shaheed 3-1-8, Holmes 1-0-2. Three-point goals: Hutson 2, Oliver, Saunders, Roddy, Abrams 2, Shaheed.