Monarch freshman Jason Moore goes to the basket against Hilliard Darby on Friday. Moore was one of four MHS hoopsters in double figures during a 67-45 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
A struggling basketball team sometimes has to reach into its bag of tricks to get things kick-started.
For the Marysville boys varsity hoopsters, it was unveiling new red uniforms on Friday against Hilliard Darby.
“We needed something to serve as a ‘slump-buster,’” said MHS head coach Ryan Grose.
The coach said his squad was all set to run out for pregame warm-ups in its usual white home “uni’s.”
When the red shirts and shorts were pulled out of the boxes, the Monarchs voiced their approval and were ready to go.
The different-colored uniforms weren’t the only weapons in Marysville’s arsenal.
Some nifty three-point shooting also went a long way as the Monarchs (who improved to 3-5) clubbed Darby, 67-45.
The first half marked a back-and-forth battle with neither team gaining much more than a three or four-point advantage.
The Panthers found the mark on a couple of early trifectas that gave them a 13-10 margin with about 1:31 left in the stanza.
Garrett Taylor scored for MHS after penetrating the lane.
Darby’s Blake Horvath, however, went to the basket on an assist by Jackson Carsey.
That shot left the Monarchs down, 15-12.
Kade Focht led Taylor on a pass to the bucket for a shot that narrowed MHS’ deficit at 15-14.
Monarch freshman Jason Moore then scored right before the buzzer.
His offering sent Marysville into the second period with a 16-15 edge.
The biggest lead either team had over the next eight minutes proved to be three points.
Jack Christian hit a pair of charity shots with 3:39 to play.
Those free throws pushed the Monarchs out to a 24-21 lead.
Matthew Sech of Darby responded with a three-ball that tied the game at 24-all.
Sech nailed a free throw and then dished to Horvath for a 27-24 Darby margin.
Marysville’s Evan Brown answered when he tickled the twine on a trifecta right before the buzzer.
His shot from downtown tied the score at 27-27 by the half.
Darby started the game in a man defense and then sprinkled in some zone.
The Panthers returned to the man alignment to begin the third set.
The Monarchs, however, made them pay dearly for that decision.
Brown and Riley Karnes both buried three-balls as the Monarchs began to assert themselves.
Karnes’ second trifecta of the quarter pushed MHS out to a 45-39 spread with slightly more than two minutes to play in the period.
Moore, who finished the game with 10 points, scored after a spin move in the lane that elevated Marysville’s lead at 47-39.
Christian converted a steal into a layup for a 49-41 advantage.
Moore blocked a shot at the other end of the court.
Christian then buried a long three-ball at the horn.
That sent the Monarchs (who will travel to Delaware Hayes tonight) into the fourth stanza with a 52-41 spread.
Marysville’s shooting was in stark contrast to the cold, cold effort put up by the Panthers during the final set.
Christian began the last period with an offering from beyond the arc that went for a 55-41 margin.
The game progressed over the next several minutes with a number of possession changes.
Karnes tallied his third and final three-ball with a little more than three minutes to play.
At that juncture of the contest, the Monarchs had built a commanding 62-45 advantage and coasted to victory.
MHS had a balanced scoring attack.
Christian led with 17 points, followed by Taylor-14, Brown-12 (four trifectas) and Moore-10.
Karnes was close behind with nine, all on three-pointers.
“Garrett and Jack had struggled the past few games, so it was nice to see them assert themselves tonight,” said Grose. “Jason had a nice game. He’s playing varsity as a freshman for a reason.
“Evan and Riley work very hard on their shooting,” he said. “They put in a lot of extra effort.”
Marysville
Christian 6-3-17, Taylor 7-0-14, Brown 4-0-12, Moore 5-0-10, Karnes 3-0-9, Fourman 1-0-3, G. Johnson 1-0-2, Focht 0-0-0, Barlow 0-0-0, Hamilton 0-0-0, Allen 0-0-0, D. Johnson 0-0-0, Tocci 0-0-0. Totals 27-3-67.
Three-point shots: Brown 4, Karnes 3, Christian 2, Fourman 1.
Hilliard Darby
Roberts 5-0-12, Sech 2-5-11, Horvath 4-2-10, Gilkerson 4-1-10, Carey 1-0-2, Ruland 0-0-0, Baird 0-0-0. Totals 16-8-45.
Three-point goals: Roberts 2, Sech 2, Gilkerson 1.
MHS split the two preliminary games.
The jayvees won, 40-38.
Connor Smith and Nick Wever both scored 16 points for MHS.
The jayvee B squad fell, 31-27.
Merrick Reynolds finished with eight points for the younger Monarchs.