Article and Story by T Ray Henry
The Marshall High School boys varsity basketball team returned to Waldrip Gymnasium on the campus of Cumberland High School to play in the consolation semifinal round of the Cumberland Turkey Tournament against Vandalia High School on a brisk Friday afternoon November 28th. Both teams entered the contest with a record of 0-1. During the opening round of the tournament, Marshall fell to Dieterich on a buzzer beater and Vandalia lost to North Clay last Monday. In this game between the Lions and the Vandals, Marshall never led while the team continued to struggle with scoring. In both games thus far, the Lions are getting production from point guard Payton McGuire and center Garrett Pugh, but the Big Red needs to find more scorers who will step up and contribute points.
The Vandals opened the ballgame with a three-point basket, then Marshall responded with a bucket by Payton McGuire on a runner down the right side of the lane. Vandalia went ahead 5-2 before Marshall’s Tucker Osborn sank a three-pointer with 3:10 to go in the opening quarter. Over the next three minutes, though, Vandalia outscored the Lions 13-4 to double up Marshall at the end of the first quarter, which ended with Vandalia leading 18-9. The other four points for Marshall were scored by Zach Jones on a nifty move inside to score at the rim, and Payton McGuire, who sank a jumper just inside the free throw line with just over a minute to go on the clock.
In quarter #2, the Vandals went ahead by double digits as the Lions, who shot only 25% behind the three-point line, struggled once again to score like they struggled in their opening game. In the final three and a half minutes, though, the Lions began chipping away at their deficit with a three-pointer by Tommy Sheehy, two buckets inside by Garrett Pugh, a free throw by Bryce Griguhn, and a couple of buckets by Payton McGuire to trim Vandalia’s lead to four at the half with the score 25-21.
The Lions couldn’t get any closer to Vandalia in the third, as the Vandals maintained a comfortable lead throughout the quarter. Whenever Marshall scored to trim the lead to 5 or 7, Vandalia would inevitably score to push their lead back up to 7 or 9. The highlight for Marshall in the third quarter was Payton McGuire eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for his career when he hit a jumper with 4:55 to go in the quarter. Marshall head coach Logan Eitel, himself a member of the exclusive 1,000-point club, called timeout so the Marshall fans in attendance could recognize Payton for his memorable accomplishment. McGuire led the Lions in the third quarter by scoring 9 of Marshall’s 11 points. Garrett Pugh had the other bucket as the quarter ended with Vandalia leading 40-32.
In the fourth quarter, Vandalia went ahead again by double digits before Marshall trimmed the lead to five with four minutes left in the game on a three-pointer by Payton McGuire from the left wing and three inside buckets from Garrett Pugh. From that point on, though, Vandalia kept scoring while Marshall went ice cold again from the field. The only points scored by the Lions down the stretch was on a traditional three-point play by freshman Ethan Sumner, who powered his way to the rim and scored as he was fouled. Sumner then sank the free throw for the first varsity points of his career. When the final buzzer sounded, Vandalia came away with a 57-44 victory.
Payton McGuire led the Lions with 20 points, his second consecutive 20-point game of the tournament. Garrett Pugh recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds which led the Lions on the boards. Tucker Osborn, Tommy Sheehy, and Ethan Sumner each scored three points. Zach Jones scored two, while Bryce Griguhn scored one.
Marshall’s game scheduled against Okaw Valley for Saturday was cancelled due to the weather, so the Lions ended the tournament with a record of 0-2. The Lions return to action Friday night, December 5th when Mount Carmel comes to town for the LIC conference opener for both teams. The junior varsity game tips off at 6:15 PM, followed by the varsity contest.
Zach Jones goes up for the score
