MARION - Seven banners hanging on the wall at one end of Marion's basketball court show the seven years the Giants have won state titles.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
But Marion is still Marion. For the first time since he began coaching Warsaw in 1981, Al Rhodes led the Tigers to a win in Bill Green Arena.
Warsaw, 12-5, beat Marion (10-6) 84-72 on Saturday.
"It's been tough here, because Marion has always had a great basketball program with good coaches and players," Rhodes said. I always consider it an accomplishment to beat them anywhere."
Marion coach Moe Smedley believes his Giants have a big 'X' on their backs.
He scouted Warsaw when the Tigers hosted and lost to NorthWood, one of their two worst efforts of the year.
"We're getting everybody's best effort," Smedley said. "Tonight Warsaw played as well as I've seen them play all year. They played with a lot more effort than the night I saw them play NorthWood, but I'm sure last year played into that.
"I just wish once an opponent would take us lightly, but that's never going to happen."
On this night, players dragged opposing players to the ground, and players crashed into the stands in a rugged game that saw 55 fouls called and 76 free throws attempted. Warsaw's free throw attempts (42) outnumbered its field goal attempts (41). Warsaw hit 32 of 42 free throws (76 percent), while Marion hit 21 of 34 (62 percent).
Four Warsaw players scored in double figures, led by starting center Josh Buck with 17. Starting forward Chris Clay added 16, starting forward Brian Johnson 13 and reserve Jerad Shaw 11.
Junior forward Bobby Pittman led Marion with 24 points, but he did it on 7-of-21 shooting from the field. Junior forward Miller, who leads Marion with 16.3 points per game, never was a factor, finishing with eight points.
He picked up five second-half fouls and fouled out with 5:52 left in the fourth quarter.
Afterward, Smedley questioned the calls - the Giants were whistled for 31 fouls to Warsaw's 24 and had three starters foul out to none for Warsaw - but Marion had its chances to take control early in the game.
At halftime, Warsaw had four starters with two or more fouls and 12 team fouls to Marion's five. Despite committing seven more first-half fouls, despite playing much of the second quarter with reserves on the court, Warsaw led 34-26 at the half.
Marion had its first-half chances at the free throw line - 17, to be exact - but the Giants hit just nine of them.
To make matters worse, the Giants played suspect defense in the opening half. Warsaw 14 of 23 field goals (62 percent) in the half, including 9 of 12 in the second quarter.
At times the Tigers exploited Marion fullcourt with long baseball passes down the floor for layups as the Giants failed to get back on defense.
At times the Tigers exploited Marion's half-court matchup zone defense by finding players open under the basket, something Rhodes said was designed for this game.
"Weren't there some great long passes?" Rhodes said. "We had quality defense and rebounding, and we kept attacking the basket. The full-court passes are something we've done all year if people are slow getting back. Brian Johnson releases well."
"If you have to tell a junior or senior to get back - that's something they learned in junior high -Êthose are mental lapses," Smedley said.
The foul trouble that hindered Warsaw in the first half bit Marion in the second half.
After hitting 3 of 3 free throws in the first half, Warsaw hit 29 of 39 in the second half as Marion was whistled for 26 second-half fouls. As in the first half, Warsaw again was whistled for 12 fouls.
"Certainly the officials did lose us the game," Smedley said. "When calls are being made close, your players need to adjust."
Marion trailed 47-36 with 3:06 left in the third quarter when Warsaw starting point guard Brad Seiss picked up his fourth foul and left the game.
His loss was magnified on this night as backup point guard Jason Foster didn't attend the game after suffering a concussion the night before. That left the point guard duties to senior Trent Martin, who has played shooting guard all season.
Marion started hitting more of its free throws and whittled away at the lead, going on a 19-8 spurt to tie the score at 55-55 with 6:06 left in the fourth.
Marion never claimed the lead, and Warsaw responded with a 20-9 run to go up 75-64. The Tigers put the game away by hitting 21 of 27 free throws in the fourth quarter.
After Miller fouled out, starting teammates Kyle Owensby (3:23) and Kevin Cates (2:50) fouled out.
Marion started the year ranked in the top 10 in the Class 5A poll, but the Giants have fallen out and are no longer receiving votes.
"I can't do anything about the press ranking them at the beginning of the year," Smedley said. "That was just a tribute to what the team did last year. Obviously I don't think our players have handled it too well."
WARSAW 84, MARION 72
Warsaw (12-5) 11 23 16 34 - 84
Marion (10-6) 11 15 21 25 - 72
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Buck (C) 5-9 7-9 2 1 9 17
G. Clay (G) 1-1 5-6 0 0 0 7
Johnson (F) 6-7 1-2 3 2 1 13
C. Clay (F) 5-6 6-8 3 1 9 16
Seiss (G) 0-3 4-4 3 2 2 4
Finnegan 2-6 2-2 0 1 4 7
Martin 3-5 0-1 0 2 2 9
Shaw 2-3 7-10 1 1 4 11
Fawley 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 24-41 32-42 12 10 31 84
Marion FG FT A S R Pts.
Miller (F) 2-4 4-6 0 1 7 8
Pittman (G) 7-21 7-10 1 1 5 24
Cates (C) 3-5 2-6 2 1 6 8
Peters (G) 1-5 0-0 2 0 1 2
Owensby (F) 2-5 4-6 1 1 1 9
McClung 5-12 4-6 1 2 3 17
Swyers 0-1 0-0 1 1 1 0
Jackson 2-3 0-0 0 0 3 4
Totals 22-56 21-34 8 7 27 72
Three-point goals - Marion 7-21 (Pittman 3-13, McClung 3-5, Owensby 1-1, Peters 0-1, Miller 0-1), Warsaw 4-7 (Martin 3-5, Finnegan 1-2). Turnovers - Marion 10, Warsaw 14. Total fouls Marion 31, Warsaw 24. Fouled out - Miller, Cates, Owensby, Finnegan.
JV: WARSAW 35, MARION 32
Warsaw (16-0) scoring - Ryan DeGeeter 13, Erik Fussle 12, William Knepper 6, Geoff Walmer 2, Suraj Datta 2
Marion (10-6) scoring - Eric Banks 11, Derjuan Strons 9, Bradley Norris 9, Parker Smithley 2, Jerry Campbell 1 [[In-content Ad]]
But Marion is still Marion. For the first time since he began coaching Warsaw in 1981, Al Rhodes led the Tigers to a win in Bill Green Arena.
Warsaw, 12-5, beat Marion (10-6) 84-72 on Saturday.
"It's been tough here, because Marion has always had a great basketball program with good coaches and players," Rhodes said. I always consider it an accomplishment to beat them anywhere."
Marion coach Moe Smedley believes his Giants have a big 'X' on their backs.
He scouted Warsaw when the Tigers hosted and lost to NorthWood, one of their two worst efforts of the year.
"We're getting everybody's best effort," Smedley said. "Tonight Warsaw played as well as I've seen them play all year. They played with a lot more effort than the night I saw them play NorthWood, but I'm sure last year played into that.
"I just wish once an opponent would take us lightly, but that's never going to happen."
On this night, players dragged opposing players to the ground, and players crashed into the stands in a rugged game that saw 55 fouls called and 76 free throws attempted. Warsaw's free throw attempts (42) outnumbered its field goal attempts (41). Warsaw hit 32 of 42 free throws (76 percent), while Marion hit 21 of 34 (62 percent).
Four Warsaw players scored in double figures, led by starting center Josh Buck with 17. Starting forward Chris Clay added 16, starting forward Brian Johnson 13 and reserve Jerad Shaw 11.
Junior forward Bobby Pittman led Marion with 24 points, but he did it on 7-of-21 shooting from the field. Junior forward Miller, who leads Marion with 16.3 points per game, never was a factor, finishing with eight points.
He picked up five second-half fouls and fouled out with 5:52 left in the fourth quarter.
Afterward, Smedley questioned the calls - the Giants were whistled for 31 fouls to Warsaw's 24 and had three starters foul out to none for Warsaw - but Marion had its chances to take control early in the game.
At halftime, Warsaw had four starters with two or more fouls and 12 team fouls to Marion's five. Despite committing seven more first-half fouls, despite playing much of the second quarter with reserves on the court, Warsaw led 34-26 at the half.
Marion had its first-half chances at the free throw line - 17, to be exact - but the Giants hit just nine of them.
To make matters worse, the Giants played suspect defense in the opening half. Warsaw 14 of 23 field goals (62 percent) in the half, including 9 of 12 in the second quarter.
At times the Tigers exploited Marion fullcourt with long baseball passes down the floor for layups as the Giants failed to get back on defense.
At times the Tigers exploited Marion's half-court matchup zone defense by finding players open under the basket, something Rhodes said was designed for this game.
"Weren't there some great long passes?" Rhodes said. "We had quality defense and rebounding, and we kept attacking the basket. The full-court passes are something we've done all year if people are slow getting back. Brian Johnson releases well."
"If you have to tell a junior or senior to get back - that's something they learned in junior high -Êthose are mental lapses," Smedley said.
The foul trouble that hindered Warsaw in the first half bit Marion in the second half.
After hitting 3 of 3 free throws in the first half, Warsaw hit 29 of 39 in the second half as Marion was whistled for 26 second-half fouls. As in the first half, Warsaw again was whistled for 12 fouls.
"Certainly the officials did lose us the game," Smedley said. "When calls are being made close, your players need to adjust."
Marion trailed 47-36 with 3:06 left in the third quarter when Warsaw starting point guard Brad Seiss picked up his fourth foul and left the game.
His loss was magnified on this night as backup point guard Jason Foster didn't attend the game after suffering a concussion the night before. That left the point guard duties to senior Trent Martin, who has played shooting guard all season.
Marion started hitting more of its free throws and whittled away at the lead, going on a 19-8 spurt to tie the score at 55-55 with 6:06 left in the fourth.
Marion never claimed the lead, and Warsaw responded with a 20-9 run to go up 75-64. The Tigers put the game away by hitting 21 of 27 free throws in the fourth quarter.
After Miller fouled out, starting teammates Kyle Owensby (3:23) and Kevin Cates (2:50) fouled out.
Marion started the year ranked in the top 10 in the Class 5A poll, but the Giants have fallen out and are no longer receiving votes.
"I can't do anything about the press ranking them at the beginning of the year," Smedley said. "That was just a tribute to what the team did last year. Obviously I don't think our players have handled it too well."
WARSAW 84, MARION 72
Warsaw (12-5) 11 23 16 34 - 84
Marion (10-6) 11 15 21 25 - 72
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Buck (C) 5-9 7-9 2 1 9 17
G. Clay (G) 1-1 5-6 0 0 0 7
Johnson (F) 6-7 1-2 3 2 1 13
C. Clay (F) 5-6 6-8 3 1 9 16
Seiss (G) 0-3 4-4 3 2 2 4
Finnegan 2-6 2-2 0 1 4 7
Martin 3-5 0-1 0 2 2 9
Shaw 2-3 7-10 1 1 4 11
Fawley 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 24-41 32-42 12 10 31 84
Marion FG FT A S R Pts.
Miller (F) 2-4 4-6 0 1 7 8
Pittman (G) 7-21 7-10 1 1 5 24
Cates (C) 3-5 2-6 2 1 6 8
Peters (G) 1-5 0-0 2 0 1 2
Owensby (F) 2-5 4-6 1 1 1 9
McClung 5-12 4-6 1 2 3 17
Swyers 0-1 0-0 1 1 1 0
Jackson 2-3 0-0 0 0 3 4
Totals 22-56 21-34 8 7 27 72
Three-point goals - Marion 7-21 (Pittman 3-13, McClung 3-5, Owensby 1-1, Peters 0-1, Miller 0-1), Warsaw 4-7 (Martin 3-5, Finnegan 1-2). Turnovers - Marion 10, Warsaw 14. Total fouls Marion 31, Warsaw 24. Fouled out - Miller, Cates, Owensby, Finnegan.
JV: WARSAW 35, MARION 32
Warsaw (16-0) scoring - Ryan DeGeeter 13, Erik Fussle 12, William Knepper 6, Geoff Walmer 2, Suraj Datta 2
Marion (10-6) scoring - Eric Banks 11, Derjuan Strons 9, Bradley Norris 9, Parker Smithley 2, Jerry Campbell 1 [[In-content Ad]]