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Tigers too much for Warriors in rivalry rematch

By Kerry Patrick 4 min read

For the second consecutive game, the Marietta defense took on the characteristics of the Bermuda Triangle where opponents' shots go to die.

After limiting Fort Frye to 23% from the floor, the Tigers turned in a similar effort after defeating Warren 67-46 in a pivotal Twin State League matchup Friday night at Sutton Gymnasium.

With Warren holding strong and trailing 23-19 with a minute and a half remaining before halftime, Marietta's offense came to the forefront, outscoring the Warriors 10-2 to go in the break leading 33-21. Isaac Koast's 3-pointer at the buzzer hit every spot on the cylinder before falling in.

Marietta carried the momentum into the third quarter as Warren could not get a shot to fall. The Warriors missed their first 10 shots of the second half. By the time Trent Taylor scored two of his team-high 16 points at the 3:16 mark, Marietta added 10 points to its total.

Prior to Taylor's bucket, Warren fell behind 43-21 as Marietta outscored the Warriors 20-2 over a six-minute span covering the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half.

"We couldn't put the ball in the basket," Warren coach Blane Maddox said. "Marietta came out pretty aggressive and pretty physical, and we didn't respond real well.

"I thought we had some decent shots early then we didn't move the ball very well -- didn't move our bodies very well. When you are stagnant against a team that's big and quick, and just as athletic if not more, that creates bigger issues. They played a great ballgame and we didn't."

Warren managed just six points on 3-of-19 shooting in the third quarter and failed to get any closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

"In our win against Fort Frye, we held them to 23 percent shooting --tonight I don't know what it was, but it was really good," Marietta coach Austin Gardner said. "We're hanging our hat on the defensive end of the floor.

"We need to clean up turnovers. It's bad."

Marietta improved to 11-5 and now controls its own destiny with one game remaining in the TSL at 4-1. The Tigers, who host Belpre Saturday, can secure the inaugural title outright with a win at Point Pleasant on Tuesday. Warren, which hosts Fort Frye Tuesday in its TSL finale, drops to 13-6 and 3-2 in the league.

"Don't know too much about the TSL -- we just try to win games," Gardner said. "If it means winning the league, we know what we got to do Tuesday night."

Three Tigers scored in double figures, including Alex Kendall with 16 points. Elyjah Lieras-Kelley and Isaac Koast both pitched in 11 points while AJ Graham added another nine points.

Marietta's fifth starter, Izak Knighten put the exclamation mark on the victory at the 2:45 mark of the fourth quarter. The junior and Koast broke free for a two-on-none fast break, and Knighten handled the scoring duties with a two-handed slam dunk as part of his six-point output.

"We went with more depth -- that's been getting better and better," Gardner said. "Our film sessions have been amped up even more than what they were, and our guys really responded.

"We're being a team, and I love it more than anything The guys cheer for each other so much and I love it."

Connor Barry added eight points for Warren, including a game-opening 3-pointer and a lead which lasted all of 2 1/2 minutes and Marietta answered with a 9-0 run, with Kendall accounting for the first two makes.

"Warriors respond very well and we will find out. I think we will be a different team come Tuesday night," Maddox said.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com.

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