Warriors pull away from Tigers, take victory 52-42
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VINCENT -- Warren used a 10-1 run late in Friday night's rivalry game against Marietta to come away with a 52-42 victory on Military Appreciation Night at Warrior Coliseum.
The game was knotted up at 37-all midway through the fourth quarter, but the Warriors scored 10 of the game's next 11 points to pull away.
"I thought we took them out of their offense late in the game," said Warren head coach Blane Maddox.
"They didn't get the looks that they like. I just thought our defense was solid. I wish we rebounded a little bit earlier and a little bit better, might've got that game done a little bit earlier. I thought our defense was key."
The win put Warren alone in first place in the Twin State League at 2-0. Marietta fell to 1-1 in the TSL and 7-4 overall, while the Warriors improved to 10-4 overall.
Marietta, which plays host to Athens Tuesday, led most of the fourth quarter until 3-pointers by Warren's Connor Barry and Jacob Sealey put the Warriors in front 12-11 going into the second.
"We played hard, we just didn't play well," said Marietta head coach Austin Gardner.
"We've got a quick turnaround Tuesday. We have three games next week. Let's learn from this and let's get better from it."
Andrew Hawkins' trey tied the game up at 14-all early in the second, but Warren used a 7-0 run, fueled by another 3-pointer from Barry, to take a 21-14 lead. The Tigers, however, answered with seven straight points of their own, capped by a triple from Alex Kendall, to tie it at 21-21. Warren got a fastbreak layup from AJ Criss just before halftime to give the Warriors a 23-21 lead at the break.
Warren, which plays Zane Trace at noon Monday at Ohio Dominican, got 3-pointers from Julian Stadelman and Sealey in the third to take an eight-point lead, their largest of the game to that point. Izak Knighten gave the Tigers some life with a three-point play to cut it to 33-29 going into the fourth.
AJ Graham opened the final period with back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 35-all at the 6:55 mark. Warren's Chase Lupardus and Marietta's Kendall traded layups to make it 37-37 before the Warriors got a basket from Trent Taylor and a 3 by Stadelman to go up five. Kendall hit a free-throw to cut it to four, 42-38, but Lupardus converted a three-point play on the other end to stretch the lead to seven with 1:35 to go. Taylor then recorded a steal and hit two foul shots to put it away.
"We just had some mental lapses that were the difference-maker in the game," Gardner said.
"We did some careless things. Mental lapses defensively, we dont' strongside help, we helped when we shouldn't have and we left their shooters open, and they made shots. Warren played really well."
Taylor led the Warriors with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Multiple times in the game when Taylor drove to the basket, Marietta's defense swarmed to him, leaving an open Warrior on the backside for Taylor to dish to.
"He's a great passer," Maddox said. "He loves to pass. I wish we could get credit for assists like we do points, but you get to that block and you double team him, he'll find somebody most of the time. (Taylor) and Lupardus got a good connection going on."
Stadelman added 12 points and three steals, while Lupardus chipped in nine points. Barry and Sealey had six points apiece while Nic Cressey tallied four points and three dimes.
The Tigers got 11 points from Graham and a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double from Kendall. Kendall also had four assists, as did Elyjah Lieras-Kelley. Lieras-Kelley and Isak Knighten had six points each, while Knighten grabbed six boards.
"It was a good atmosphere," Gardner said. "Our guys competed. I'm happy about that. A big thing I've heard in the past is we haven't competed. I would say we competed there. I'm happy about that."
Added Maddox, "It was an intense game. I thought it was just two teams battling and going at it really well."
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.