Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Friday and Saturday, February 13th / 14th, the Marshall High School boys basketball team played back-to-back home games against Teutopolis and Charleston, respectively, to close out the 2025-2026 home basketball schedule inside McNary Gymnasium. Playing their first two games without senior leader Payton McGuire, the Lions lost to Teutopolis on Friday night before bouncing back and beating Charleston on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday night, the second-ranked Wooden Shoes, whose only loss this season to a Class 2A school came at the hands of Bloomington Central Catholic back in the middle of December, came into the game winning 21 of their last 22 games. The last time Teutopolis failed to win a regional title in the state tournament came in 2009 to Marshall, when Marshall head coach Logan Eitel was a senior in high school. With Marshall playing without their team’s leading scorer and assist leader, Teutopolis, who in their two previous games defeated Casey-Westfield by 28 and Robinson by 47, pressed on defense nearly the entire game and sped up the Lions into playing at a pace Marshall was uncomfortable playing. The result was an 81-42 defeat for Marshall, who never gave up the fight and continued playing as hard as they could given the circumstances.
Marshall went toe-to-toe in the beginning of the game, riding two three-pointers, one by Garrett Pugh from the top right to give the Lions a 3-0 lead, then the other by Tucker Osborn, who splashed a triple from the top of the key to give the Lions a 6-5 lead with 4:40 to go in the opening quarter. Two free throws by Pugh, followed by a free throw by Osborn, kept Marshall in the lead with the score 9-8 with 3:23 to go on the clock. As the first quarter clock winded down to zero, Garrett Pugh dribbled down the left side and launched a deep three at the buzzer that fell through, and his triple got the Lions within 10 at the end of one quarter (24-14).
Although the Wooden Shoes showed why they have been in the top 3 in the state the entire season, Marshall kept competing, and many players got valuable experience in the game. With freshman Brady Landrus being thrust into a primary rotational role in the backcourt, playing against an elite squad can only speed up his development as he comes back next year for his sophomore campaign. At one time on the floor, Liam Keim, who was directing the young Lions in both their offensive and defensive sets, was accompanied by three freshmen (Landrus, Tommy Sheehy, and Ethan Sumner) and a sophomore (Zach Jones) on the floor. The four underclassmen gave the Lions faithful a glimpse of the future of Marshall basketball, which looked bright at times in the game. Getting all the returning players in the weight room and improving their ballhandling and shooting skills will be vital moving forward.
In the T-Town game, Marshall was led by Tucker Osborn, who sank four three-pointers on his way to scoring 13 points. Garrett Pugh scored 12, while Zach Jones scored 5. Brady Landrus and Ethan Sumner each finished with 3 points, and Liam Keim, Tommy Sheehy, and Bryce Griguhn each scored 2.
Coming back less than 24 hours later to take on Charleston in the home finale, the Lions quickly put the T-Town game in the rearview mirror. Against the Class 3A Trojans, the Lions’ frontcourt dominated in the lane on offense and defense as Marshall defeated Charleston by the score of 45-24.
Garrett Pugh led the team vs. Charleston with 15 points. Bryce Griguhn (8), Tommy Sheehy (7), and Zach Jones (4) combined with Pugh for Marshall to get 34 points from its frontcourt. Tucker Osborn (5), Liam Keim (3), and Brady Landrus (3) handled the ball very efficiently on the perimeter as the Lions kept the Trojans off-balance with an inside-outside game.
Marshall returns to action Tuesday, February 17th when the Lions travel to Robinson to take on the Maroons in the season finale. The junior varsity game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM.
Payton McGuire being recognized before the Teutopolis game
Liam Keim drops in a shot against Teutopolis
Bryce Griguhn goes up strong to score againast Charleston
Tucker Osborn led the Lions in scoring against Teutopolis
