All basketball coaches like a good inside-outside game on offense.
Marietta High had one going in a 64-46 triumph over visiting Rosecrans in an East Central Ohio League boys' game at Sutton Gym Friday night.
Braden Riley, a 6-foot-5 junior pivot player, led the Tigers (3-4) with 16 points, all from in the paint, while Adam McKnight, a 6-2 junior sharpshooter, added 15 markers on five threes.
"It was nice to see our post (Riley and Billy Weekly) get some offense," said MHS head coach J.D. Secrest. "Braden and Billy played really well.
"And, Adam's perimeter shooting helped force Rosecrans to spread out a little bit. That made it easier for our post players to get some touches.
"I thought we also did a good job of counteracting Rosecran's size and strength on defense."
Cameron Benson and Weekly chipped in with nine points apiece for the orange and black.
The Bishops (1-6) were paced by non-starter Adrick Cronin, who tallied 15 points. Jared Cox added 10 markers, and Tyler Johnston netted eight.
"We graduated most of our team from last season, so we're pretty young, kind of like Marietta," said Rosecrans boss Todd Rock. "I thought our kids played hard, and I can see we're making progress. We're trying to get better."
With Riley (6) and McKnight (6) combining for 12 points, Marietta, which never trailed in the contest, staked itself to a 15-9 first-quarter advantage.
"We got ourselves a lead early," Secrest said, "and were able to maintain it. The kids came out with a lot of energy."
"Right now, we're just working on competing and scoring points."
MHS opened up the second period with an 8-0 run on a trey by McKnight and a deuce and three by Benson to stretch its lead to double digits (23-9)for the first time in the game. Benson scored all of his points (9) during the second eight minutes of play.
"Cam came off the bench, and knocked in some shots," Secrest said. "And he also played pretty solid defense for us."
MHS outpointed Rosecrans 19-9 in the second stanza and went into the locker room at halftime with a 34-18 lead.
After the break, it was a pretty even-steven defensive battle with Marietta maintaining a 15-point cushion (43-28) going into the final period. During third quarter action, Marietta's Jordan Satterfield had two nice steals, good for three points, while Rosecrans' Cronin poured in eight points.
During the fourth quarter, the Tiger advantage bulged to 23 points (53-30) on a 10-0 run, which included two threes by McKnight, a putback by Corey Hill and an inside layup by Riley. From there, the orange and black cagers pretty much coasted him with the victory.
"It was nice to get 60 (plus) points up on the board," Secrest said. "A lot of kids stepped up."
Marietta is scheduled to host Belpre in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
