One object of a 3-2 zone is to eliminate an opponent’s outside shooting. Sometimes, however, being exposed in the paint is a downside. On Tuesday night, Independence experienced that downside.

Marion dominated around the basket and played stifling defense as the Indians rolled against Independence, 55-39, at the Marion gym in a Wamac Conference game.

The Mustangs, concerned with Marion’s outside shooting ability, played predominately in a 3-high 2-low zone defense. Marion took full advantage of the extra space inside, crashing the boards and creating second-chance opportunities all night.

“That was a big key because against a zone defense you have to get to the glass,” said Marion Coach Mike Manderscheid. “Offensive rebounds are a premium and I thought our kids did a good job of making sure that they didn’t get boxed out.”

The opportunistic Indians (6-4) came out of the gate aggressively, hitting the glass and taking advantage of several loose-ball plays. They led the Mustangs 38-28 at halftime.

Marion relied on its consistent scorers Isaac Frazier and Tyler Gunderson, who dominated the paint and scored tallied 17 and 15 points, respectively.

“Isaac is our main threat from the inside and our kids look for him in there. I know he got a few baskets off of offensive rebounds and he also had some good post touches,” said Manderscheid.

“Ty also has the ability to score down in there and in the second half I think he looked to do just a little more of that.”

In the second half, Marion simply proved to be too much for the Mustangs.

The Indian coaching staff must have given a high-quality halftime speech, because Independence did not score a point in the third quarter.

Marion forced 10 Independence turnovers in the third quarter alone and 16 in the contest. The Indians played suffocating halfcourt man-to-man defense and picked off several Mustang passes in a three-quarter court press.

“Our defense in the first half was good at times,” said Manderscheid. “But I thought we did a great job in the third quarter when we played better halfcourt man-to-man defense.”

The Mustangs fell to 0-9 for the season.

INDEPENDENCE (39): Cooksley 3 2-2 10, Krempges 1 2-4 10, Cabalka 2 2-3 4, Frank 1 0-2 2, Chesmore 0 0-2 0, Fischels 4 0-0 10, Beebe 1 0-0 2, Henningsen 1 0-0 2, Henderson 0 2-2 2. Totals 13 8-15 39.

MARION (55): Cannoy 3 2-2 8, Quinn 1 0-0 2, Gunderson 7 1-1 15, Landuyt 3 0-0 6, Frazier 7 3-4 17, Engle 1 0-0 2, Buckley 0 0-0 0, Schneiders 1 0-2 2, Hardman 1 1-2 3, Hartzler 0 0-0 0, Wheeler 0 0-0 0, Connolly 0 0-0 0, Phillips 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-11 55.

Halftime - Marion 38, Independence 28. 3-point goals - Independence 5 (Cooksley 2, Fischels 2, Cabalka 1), Marion none.