Jason Moore of Marysville, left, goes up for a shot against North Union’s Zach Vernon on Saturday. Moore led all scorers during MHS’ victory. (Journal-Tribune phot by Tim Miller)
“We missed a lot of shots in the early going of the first half…those came back to bite us.”
Those were the words of North Union boys hoop boss Brian Terrill after Saturday evening’s 55-44 setback at Marysville.
“Marysville plays very good defense and can make you hurry a lot of things.”
The Monarch D put the kibosh to a Wildcat offense that went into the contest averaging nearly 64 points per game.
The Monarchs shut down driving and passing lanes, preventing NU from patiently working for shots in the paint.
Instead, the Wildcats had to hurry a number of offerings that failed to find the mark.
The game was a tight battle during the first half.
Garrett Taylor gave MHS an early lead with a three-pointer.
North Union grabbed a 4-3 edge two minutes into the game on buckets from Zach Vernon and Owen Davis.
Shots by Jack Christian and Taylor nudged MHS back in front by a 7-4 mark.
Vernon scored on the low block and Trevyn Feasel nailed a jumper for NU.
Those baskets gave the Wildcats an 8-7 lead with 1:46 left in the opening stanza.
North Union turned the ball over on a tie-up with 1:02 on the clock.
MHS worked the timer down for a final shot.
Jason Moore, who led all scorers with 14 points, went inside for a bucket that returned a 9-8 edge to the Monarchs.
It was NU’s turn for a final shot attempt.
The effort, however, was off as the horn ended the period.
Ryan Barlow went strong to the basket and a bucket by Taylor upped Marysville’s advantage to 13-8 early in the ensuing quarter.
The Wildcats, however, came back with a rush.
Preston Crabtree hit a jumper.
Max Parish then came off the bench and dialed in a trifecta that tied the game at 13-all
Taylor assisted on a basket by Karnes to break the stalemate.
“We shared the ball well tonight,” said Grose. “We knew North Union would key on Jack and we took what their defense gave us.”
Marysville tallied baskets down the stretch from Taylor and Karnes.
The Monarchs still, however, couldn’t gain much separation.
Shots by Aaron Krebehenne and Crabtree helped keep the Wildcats within 21-17 at halftime.
Marysville’s gym rained down some three-pointers to begin the third quarter.
Karnes sandwiched a trifecta between two from Krebehenne as the Monarchs maintained a 24-23 edge.
“I really thought we came out with a lot of energy after haltime,” said Terrill.
Marysville began to reach that much sought-after separation over the next few minutes.
Taylor stepped out beyond the arc for a three-ball.
Moore sank a pair of charity tosses and Christian drilled a three-pointer.
With 4:46 left in the third period, MHS had climbed to a 32-23 advantage.
Vernon scored on the offensive glass as North Union continued a strong fight.
A charity toss by Christian with 1:41 on the timer gave the Monarchs a 33-25 spread.
It also tied him with the late Ed Nicol on the school’s career scoring list with 1,208 points.
Crabtree knocked down a three-ball that narrowed NU’s deficit to 33-28.
Taylor then assisted on a basket by Moore, sending the Monarchs into the final quarter with a 35-28 spread.
“We were able to hit some different guys on slips through the defense,” said Grose. “I think that was due to our size advantage.”
“Marysville went back-door on us four or five times,” said Terrill. “Nobody has been able to do that to us this year.”
Moore scored on the offensive glass to push MHS up by a 39-28 count.
Crabtree buried trifectas on back-to-back possessions, narrowing the Cats’ gap to 49-41.
With time elapsing, NU was forced to begin fouling.
Charity tosses from Barlow and Brown enabled the Monarchs to keep the Wildcats at bay.
The victory gives the Monarchs (who will host Bishop Watterson this afternoon-1 p.m.) an 11-7 record.
North Union (which will travel to Springfield Shawnee on Wednesday) lost for only the third time this season in 19 games.
Marysville
Moore 5-4-14, Taylor 5-0-12, Christian 3-1-8, Karnes 3-0-7, Barlow 2-2-6, Brown 0-6-6, Focht 1-0-2, G. Johnson 0-0-0, Hamilton 0-0-0, Allen 0-0-0, Tocci 0-0-0. Totals 19-13-55.
Three-point goals: Taylor2, Christian 1, Karnes 1.
North Union
Crabtree 5-0-13, Krebehenne 4-1-11, Vernon 4-1-9, Feasel 2-2-6, Parish 1-0-3, O. Davis 1-0-2, H. Davis 0-0-0, Draper 0-0-0, Bright 0-0-0. Totals 17-4-44.
Three-point goals: Crabtree 3, Krebehenne 3.