North Union’s Harley Day (35) goes in for a basket on Saturday against Marysville’s Garrett Taylor (right) and Noah Brown (32). (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller)
Coming off Friday evening’s Central Buckeye Conference victory over Benjamin Logan, North Union boys hoop boss Brian Terrill may have wondered how his squad would handle Marysville the following day.
He liked what he saw.
The Wildcats upped their record to 8-0 with a 58-47 non-conference triumph on Saturday over the Monarchs.
The opening quarter could not have been more polar opposite for the Union County neighbors.
NU set the tone early by climbing to a 9-2 lead, while Marysville (5-3) had more than its share of offensive troubles.
“We had some good looks at the basket during the first quarter, but a lot of those shots didn’t fall,” said Marysville head coach Ryan Grose.
“Our guys had really been looking forward to this day,” said Terrill. “We’ve been playing well and we got off to a very good start.”
Preston Crabtree knocked down the Wildcats’ lone three-point shot of the game to give the home squad a 5-0 lead.
Except for a few minutes during the second half, it was an upper hand North Union refused to yield.
The Monarchs, who hold first place in the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division, got on the scoreboard with an early bucket by Garrett Taylor.
The 6-4 junior added four more of his team-high 22 points to narrow Marysville’s deficit to 9-6.
The Monarchs stayed within a handful of markers for the next few minutes.
Crabtree stretched the Wildcats’ lead with a couple of nifty plays.
He went baseline for a basket and then came up with a steal near the midcourt line.
Crabtree drove to the basket, but was fouled.
He sank both free throws to double NU’s lead at 16-8.
The Monarchs came up with several empty possessions during that same stretch.
Harley Day, North Union’s 6-5 post player, got a Monarch defender up in the air with a shot fake.
Day then hit the basket that sent NU into the second period with an 18-8 margin.
Trevyn Feasel sank a pull-up jumper for the Wildcats, but Evan Brown answered for MHS with his own basket.
North Union’s lead remained at 20-10 for a number of minutes as both teams either had trouble keeping a handle on the ball or sent offerings toward the rim that were off their marks.
NU did a good job of sealing off driving and passing lanes until Taylor found daylight for a layup.
Feasel responded with a reverse baseline lay-in at the opposite end of the floor.
Day then tallied a basket that doubled North Union’s margin at 24-12.
At that point, the Monarchs found a spark.
A trifecta by Ryan Barlow was sandwiched between buckets from Noah Brown and Gabe Schaeffer.
Suddenly, with 1:12 remaining in the first half, Marysville had whittled its deficit down to 25-21.
“We played like we’re capable during that stretch,” said Grose. “We knocked down a couple of shots and guarded well.”
Feasel scored on a spin move to the lane.
Day then got the ball to Zack Vernon for a shot that gave the Wildcats a bit of breathing room at 29-21.
Barlow, however, buried another three-ball that pulled the Monarchs to within 29-24 at the turn.
Schaeffer converted a steal into a layup and Joey Duke fed a no-look pass to Taylor for a score that sliced MHS’ deficit to 29-28 early in the third set.
Day and Taylor swapped baskets, but MHS took its first lead of the game at 32-31 when Taylor followed his own miss to the rim.
Feasel returned a brief lead to the Wildcats, but Jack Christian’s bucket pushed Marysville to a 34-33 lead.
That, however, was the final time MHS controlled the scoreboard.
“We switched our defenses a bit after Marysville took the lead,” said Terrill. “We saw that Christian and Taylor were getting involved with their offense.
“We didn’t want Christian going for 25 or more points, or we were going to lose,” he said. “We had Trevyn and Joel (Krebehenne) alternate to keep fresh legs on him.”
Feasel also sank a pair of charity tosses that returned a 35-34 lead to the home team.
Day hit a free throw that was followed by Crabtree’s shot that pushed NU out to a 38-34 margin.
Duke banked in a three-pointer that narrowed MHS’ deficit to 38-37.
Day, however, scored and sent the Cats into the final eight minutes of action with a 40-37 edge.
Christian was spot on with two free throws that reduced Marysville’s disadvantage to 42-39 early in the quarter.
Day, though, took over for the next several minutes.
He thwarted a Monarch possession with a tip steal and scored twice down low as NU padded its lead at 46-39.
Taylor kept MHS within striking distance with a couple of baskets.
Day tallied four more points and grabbed several rebounds as the Wildcats climbed to a 51-45 lead.
The clock sped to less than two minutes as North Union began to sense victory.
Marysville missed a handful of shots and with the timer ticking, the Cats began to spread the floor.
That, in turn, forced the Monarchs to foul in an attempt to regain possession.
NU found itself first in the bonus and then the double bonus.
Charity tosses by Day, Crabtree and Feasel stretched North Union’s lead to 55-45.
Those free throws were part of 13 the Cats made for the game.
Taylor scored with less than a minute to play, pulling the Monarchs to within 55-47.
Crabtree sank one additional free throw for a 56-47 margin.
Marysville came up empty on three close-in tries at the basket.
NU’s Connor Terrill picked up a loose ball and sped the opposite direction.
He scored right before the buzzer for NU’s 11-point margin of victory.
Grose acknowledged the Wildcats’ work after the contest.
“North Union is unbeaten for a reason,” he said. “In basketball, it really doesn’t matter about being Division III (NU) or D-I (Marysville). If you’ve got guys who can play like North Union, it doesn’t matter the size of the school.
“We also didn’t have an answer for Harley Day.”
Terrill said depth is part of the Wildcats’ strength.
“Joey Duke, who is Marysville’s best defender, was on Connor tonight,” said coach Terrill. “However, we’ve got guys who can pick up the slack when someone else isn’t scoring.
“I think with our depth, we’re a nightmare for someone to try and scout.”
North Union
Day 9-5-23, Crabtree 5-5-16, Feasel 4-3-11, Terrill 2-0-4, Vernon 1-0-2, O. Davis 1-0-2, A. Krebehenne 0-0-0, J. Krebehenne 0-0-0. Totals 22-13-58.
Three-point goal: Crabtree 1.
Marysville
Taylor 11-0-22, Christian 3-2-8, Barlow 2-0-6, Schaeffer 2-0-4, Duke 1-0-3, E. Brown 1-0-2, N. Brown 1-0-2, Mills 0-0-0. Totals 21-2-47.
Three-point goals: Barlow 2, Duke 1.
Marysville rolled to an easy 64-35 victory during the junior varsity game.
Kade Focht tossed in 21 points for the Junior Monarchs, while Isaac Tocci added 11.
Owen Davis led NU’s jayvees with 15 and Aaron Krebehenne scored 10.
Jack Christian (4) eyes the rim against Preston Crabtree of NU. The Wildcats won the non-conference game, 58-47.