Marion Boys Basketball

Marion falls short against Solon

Craig Engle sat on a stool after Marion's Class 3A district game against Solon Monday night and slowly unwrapped the brace on his tender left ankle, anice bag waiting on a table nearby.

The Marion High School star insisted the ankle did not slow him down in the 42-32 loss to the Spartans, but Coach Mike Manderscheid was not entirely sure about that.

"Maybe not quite as explosive, but he hadn't played in two weeks, so that doesn't help," said Manderscheid.

Engle, who averages more than 16 points, was held to only 10 points in the final game of his prep career. He hurt his ankle against Center Point-Urbana and skipped two games before returning against Solon in the postseason tournament.

"It felt great until maybe two minutes left in the game," he said. "I tweaked it or something, but it was fine most of the time.

"I was pretty close to 100 percent. There was a little swelling."

Engle had three fouls and yielded to a substitute for short stretches on defense in the fourth quarter, both to protect him and perhaps not put extra strain on the ankle. He acknowledged that he dragged his left leg at times late in the game.

"It definitely slowed me down a little, but I definitely wasn't thinking about it most of the game," he said. "So that's good."

Engle popped in a 3-pointer to pull the Indians (14-8) within 35-32 with 2:36 left in the game, but those were the last points Marion scored in the ballgame and the last points Engle scored in his career. The Indians misfired the rest of the game and committed a few turnovers to compound their problems.

It was a tough shooting night for the entire team.

"We couldn't hit shots," said Manderscheid. "I don't know what we shot, but we shot poorly. I thought we got pretty good looks, all night long."

Engle was the only player in double figures for Marion.

Emilio Villagrana and Streeter McIlravy netted 11 points apiece for Solon and Jake Coons had 10. The Spartans (10-12) will meet Xavier (14-8) in the district finals Thursday night at Kennedy.

Marion wasn't the only team with offensive woes Monday. Solon averages 63.6 points and was held more than 21 points under its norm.

"I thought we played really good defense," said Engle. "We just couldn't hit any shots down the stretch. It's tough."

Engle hopes to play college basketball and mentioned Coe and Cornell as two possibilities. He talked to an assistant coach from Loras after Monday's game, but his thoughts were on the final game of his prep career.

"I'm sad. I'm going to be sad for a week, a month," he said. "Watching Solon move on is going to be tough, knowing that could have been us."

Manderscheid is proud of his club's effort this season.

"The kids played hard," he said. "They tried to defend night-in and night-out."

SOLON (42): Villagrana 4 0-0 11, Rushek 0 0-0 0, Childs 0 0-0 0, McIlravy 3 5-6 11, Black 2 1-1 5, Coons 3 3-4 10, Durr 1 1-2 3, Ira 0 0-0 0, Runyan 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 10-14 42.

MARION (32): Fish 3 0-2 6, Engle 3 3-3 10, Manderscheid 2 2-2 7, Alberts 1 0-0 2, Devin Quinn 0 0-2 0, Smith 1 0-0 2, DeShaun Quinn 0 0-0 0, Williams 1 2-2 5. Totals 11 7-11 32.

Halftime: Solon 15, Marion 14. 3-point goals - Solon 4 (Villagrana 3, Coons 1), Marion 3 (Engle 1, Manderscheid 1, Williams 1).

DeWitt Central buries Marion, 47-22

DEWITT – The Marion boys basketball team trailed 15-2 after the first quarter and never got rolling in a 47-22 loss to DeWitt Central on Tuesday.

Devin Quinn scored seven points to lead the Indians as they finished the regular season 14-7. Craig Engle, Marion's top scorer, is sidelined with a bad ankle.

Logan Sheppard scored 11 points for DeWitt Central (10-11).

MARION (22): Fish 0 0-0 0, Walter 0 0-0 0, Holt 0 0-0 0, Manderscheid 1 2-2 4, Alberts 0 0-0 0, Devin Quinn 3 1-2 7, Smith 0 0-2 0, Duval 0 0-0 0, Cook 0 0-0 0, Pflughaupt 0 0-0 0, Deshaun Quinn 2 1-2 5, Williams 3 0-1 6. Totals 9 4-8 22.

DeWITT CENTRAL (47): Stammeyer 0 2-2 2, McClain Steffens 2 1-1 6, Hageman 0 0-0 0, Costello 0 0-0 0, Connell 2 0-0 4, Sikkema 0 0-0 0, Sheppard 3 4-6 11, Clark 0 1-1 1, Keegan 0 0-0 0, Max Steffens 3 0-0 9, Jacobs 0 0-0 0, Daniels 3 2-2 8, Butler 0 0-0 0, Devos 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 10-12 47.

Halftime – DeWitt Central 24, Marion 11. 3-point goals – Marion none, DeWitt Central 7 (Max Steffens 3, McClain Steffens, Sheppard, Butler, Devos).

Manderscheid leads Marion by Oelwein

OELWEIN - Jacob Manderscheid scored 14 points Thursday night and Deshaun Quinn had 10 as the Marion Indians topped Oelwein, 45-32, in a boys basketball game in Oelwein.

Craig Engle, Marion's leading scorer, did not play for the Indians due to a bad ankle. Marion raised its record to 14-6.

Austin Arndt and DuQuan Schumacher scored eight points apiece for Oelwein, which dropped its 13th straight game and fell to 2-18.

MARION (45): Fish 0 3-4 3, Walter 1 0-0 3, Holt 0 0-0 0, Whalen 0 1-2 1, Manderscheid 5 1-2 14, Alberts 3 0-0 6, Devin Quinn 1 1-2 3, Smith 2 0-0 4, Duval 0 0-0 0, Cook 0 1-2 1, Pflughaupt 0 0-2 0, Deshaun Quinn 5 0-0 10, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-13 45.

OELWEIN (32): Lensing 0 3-4 3, Rau 0 0-0 0, Moeller 2 0-0 5, Arndt 2 2-2 8, Suckow 0 0-2 0, Ladeburg 2 0-0 5, Schumacher 2 4-5 8, Schulmeister 0 0-0 0, Myott 0 0-0 0, Griffith 0 0-0 0, Stasi 0 0-0 0, Rex 0 0-0 0, Larson 0 0-0 0, Rettinger 0 1-2 1, Harkin 1 0-0 2, Mohamed 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 10-15 32.

Halftime - Marion 18, Oelwein 13. 3-point goals - Marion 4 (Manderscheid 3, Walter 1), Oelwein 4 (Arndt 2, Moeller 1, Ladeburg 1).

Marion boys survive CPU in OT

The Marion boys basketball team escaped a scare from Center Point-Urbana, beating the Stormin’ Pointers 68-63 in overtime Tuesday at Marion.

The Indians led 52-45 entering the fourth quarter, but Center Point-Urbana rallied to tie the score at 60-60 at the end of regulation.

Baylor Fish, Craig Engle and Jacob Manderscheid each scored 13 points for Marion (13-6).

Grant Dirks made 12-of-14 free throws for 16 points to lead Center Point-Urbana (6-13). Mason McCauley scored 15 points, Clayton Kramer had 12 points and Jace Jirak added 11 points.

Read more...