Article and Photos By T Ray Henry
On Tuesday, December 9th, the Marshall High School boys basketball team traveled on the road to Unity High School in Tolono to take on the IHSA Class 2A preseason Number 1-ranked Rockets inside the Rocket Center. In their last game, Marshall defeated Mount Carmel in their first conference game. Unity played Teutopolis in their last game, with the Wooden Shoes coming away with a 56-50 win in T-Town.
Taking on a top-ranked team on their home floor creates a clear picture of what the Lions need to work on as they move back into the conference slate in their next game, especially with Unity already angry their undefeated season vanished in their third game of the season. Unity, whose football team played in the IHSA Class 3A state championship last month, creates a challenge for opposing teams on the basketball court as well. Their length and depth aside, the Rockets take the floor with 9 seniors who have been in the program for the past 4 years. Going 12 deep in their rotation, Unity rolls out a starting five consisting of 5 seniors, and their second group features 3 seniors and 2 juniors. With the Lions currently going 7 deep with both reserves being frontcourt players, tonight’s game was going to be a big test for the Lions backcourt in managing the full-court and ¾ pressure defense Unity employs.
On this night, Marshall came out of the gate playing their best basketball of the young season in the opening quarter. Garrett Pugh, who dominated the Rockets the entire game, got Marshall on the board when he swished a 16-foot jumper from straight away to give the Lions a 2-0 lead early. After Unity tied it up at 2, the Rockets put on a full-court press that Marshall handled with ease. The Lions spread out and created passing lanes to move the ball up the floor. Payton McGuire dribbled up and threw a pass over the top of the Unity defense to Bryce Griguhn, who caught the ball on the right elbow. Griguhn went in and scored to make it 4-2 Marshall. After an empty trip for Unity, two Payton McGuire free throws on the Lions next possession gave Marshall a 6-2 lead.
It became apparent Unity’s strategy in the game was to get Payton McGuire and Garrett Pugh in foul trouble, but after each Lion got called for a foul, Marshall switched up their defense to a zone to minimize the damage. One free throw scored by the Rockets brought the score to 6-3 before Marshall scored 5 unanswered points to go ahead 11-3 with 4 minutes to go in the quarter. Payton McGuire broke the press and passed the ball over on the right wing to Tucker Osborn. Osborn dribbled in and passed back to McGuire on the right wing. McGuire drilled the three-point shot to make it 9-3, then the Big Red got a stop on the defensive end. Tucker Osborn found Garrett Pugh alone inside the lane, so Osborn zipped in a pass which Pugh caught and scored, giving the Lions an 11-3 lead.
Unity scored two straight buckets as the Lions got sped up on offense, closing the gap to 4 with the score 11-7. A 15-foot jumper and two free throws by Payton McGuire countered a score by Unity which made the score 15-9 in favor of the Lions. After another great defensive stop as Marshall crashed the boards, Tucker Osborn was fouled at the 1:53 mark. He hit both free throws for Marshall to go up 17-9. Down the stretch, Garrett Pugh scored again inside, while Unity scored four points as the first quarter ended with Marshall in the lead 19-13 as the Unity crowd sat in stunned silence.
In quarter #2, Marshall’s shooting woes came back to bite the Lions as Unity outscored Marshall 21-4 to take a 34-23 lead at the half. Payton McGuire and Garrett Pugh accounted for Marshall’s points as the visitors went cold from downtown even though they broke the defensive pressure of Unity. For the game, Marshall finished just 2 for 18 from behind the three-point line.
In the second half, Marshall kept pace with the Rockets, but they couldn’t chip away at the deficit they got in during the second quarter. In the end, Marshall came out on the short end of a 63-47 score.
Unity’s bigs tried to impose a physical presence on Marshall’s Garrett Pugh throughout the game by sending 5 bigs at him, but Pugh dominated all the Rockets football players to the tune of 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Lions. Payton McGuire, who was double-teamed most of the game, ended up with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Liam Keim had 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Tucker Osborn finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Bryce Griguhn had his biggest offensive game at the varsity level with 8 points to go along with 4 rebounds. Zach Jones ended up with 2 points and 4 rebounds, and Reed Ramey rounded out the scoring on the night with 2 points.
In the first quarter, Marshall recorded 5 assists, but just 4 the rest of the way for a total of 9. After the game, Marshall head coach Logan Eitel pointed to the scoring drought in the second quarter as the difference, and had some of those shots fallen through, we might be talking about a win in the Rockets’ house. Eitel said they’re taking away all positives from the game. Marshall outrebounded Unity, which hadn’t been outrebounded all season. He noted the improved free throw shooting (Marshall as a team was 15 of 18 from the line), great defense, the ability to break the press, and he said the team played with confidence and control in the first quarter. Finally, Eitel said the length and depth of Unity had the Lions waning down the stretch, but if not for that lull in scoring in the second quarter, Marshall had a chance to beat the #1 team in the state.
In the junior varsity game which preceded the varsity contest, the young Lions looked like they played a basketball game less than 24 hours before, which they did during a big home win over Paris. Against the Rockets, Marshall’s JV squad struggled with the Rockets full-court pressure defense and tired legs. In the first quarter, neither team scored until there were about 4 ½ minutes left on the clock when Marshall’s Cage Stuckey brought the ball up the floor, took the ball into the lane, spun, and scored on a nice shot to give the Lions a 2-0 lead, their only lead of the game. Good defense was played by both sides as the first stanza ended with Unity holding a 4-2 lead.
In the second quarter, Unity stretched out their lead by outscoring Marshall 19-5, during which time the Rockets went on a 15-0 run, to lead 23-7 at the half. During the second half, Marshall never cut into the deficit, ultimately losing the game by the score of 44-19.
Marshall junior varsity game scoring: Reed Ramey – 5, Ethan Sumner – 4, Cage Stuckey – 2, Zach Jones – 2, Tommy Sheehy – 2, Preston Welsh – 2, Keith Walker – 1, Luke Brodie – 1.
Marshall (1-3) returns to action this Friday night when the Lions travel to Paris for a conference doubleheader. The junior varsity game is scheduled to start at 6:00 PM, with the varsity game to follow. On Saturday afternoon, the Lions are scheduled to play Crawfordsville (IN) in the Indiana-Illinois Border Battle hosted by South Vermillion High School in Clinton, Indiana. Marshall’s boys tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM Illinois time.
The boys game Saturday is right after the girls basketball game versus West Vigo (IN) at 2:00 PM Illinois time. Tickets for the Border Battle are $7.00 each. Those six years of age and under are free.
Garett Pugh led the Lions with a team high 20 points and 17 rebounds
Payton McGuire,ended up with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals