Game Report: Fort Wayne Northrop 71 Marion 63
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Marion comes into this one with a 6-7 record and back-to-back conference wins over Lafayette Jeff and Logansport. Marion is led by their trio of Cubie Jones (Senior), Taden Metzger Taden Metzger 6'3" | SG Fishers | 2024 State IN…
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Continue ReadingMarion comes into this one with a 6-7 record and back-to-back conference wins over Lafayette Jeff and Logansport. Marion is led by their trio of Cubie Jones (Senior), Taden Metzger Taden Metzger 6'3" | SG Fishers | 2024 State IN (Sophomore), and Jaymen Townsend Jaymen Townsend 6'6" | SF Marion | 2025 State #248 Nation IN (Freshman) who all average double figures. Fort Wayne Northrop comes into this one with an 8-8 record and a 13-point loss to #12 Homestead on Friday night. They are led by Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN , the UIC commit, who is averaging over 30 points per game this season, but he is coming off of a 5-point performance on Friday in the loss to Homestead. He was looking to bounce back tonight.
In the first quarter, it was a back and forth affair for almost the entire quarter. Both teams were looking to push the tempo, and it seemed like both teams were able to have an answer for the other whenever a bucket was scored. Fort Wayne Northrop was led by Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN with 8 points, and James Mallory James Mallory 6'6" | SF Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023 AZ scored 4 off the bench with a couple of good post moves inside. For Marion, Jaymen Townsend Jaymen Townsend 6'6" | SF Marion | 2025 State #248 Nation IN led with 5 points, and Taden Metzger Taden Metzger 6'3" | SG Fishers | 2024 State IN and David Jones added 4 in a pretty evenly split quarter for the Giants. Marion led 19-18 after one.
In the second quarter, we saw more of the same from both teams. For Marion, they continued to share the ball well and get open looks around the rim and on the outside. However, 11 first-half turnovers and 8 steals by Northrop led to easy run outs for Northrop. Jayden Schmenk Jayden Schmenk 6'0" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023 IN came up with several fastbreak buckets in the second quarter. Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN up to 16 points for Northrop at the half, and Jayden Schmenk Jayden Schmenk 6'0" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023 IN with 9 off of the fastbreak buckets. For Marion, Taden Metzger Taden Metzger 6'3" | SG Fishers | 2024 State IN with 9 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting, and Jaymen Townsend Jaymen Townsend 6'6" | SF Marion | 2025 State #248 Nation IN with 9 points at the rim. Northrop led 34-32 at the half over the Giants.
To start the second half, Marion came out firing with two quick triples by Cubie Jones and Jaymen Townsend Jaymen Townsend 6'6" | SF Marion | 2025 State #248 Nation IN , but Northrop answered with a 13-3 run by getting in the lane and finishing in and through contact with Omarion Ennols and Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN getting a couple of buckets each. All in all, the third quarter was the battle between Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN and Cubie Jones as Jackson was getting to the rim and finishing while Jones was making things happen for his teammates and hitting shots. Jones would have 7 in the quarter to give him 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN with another huge quarter of 11 points put him up to 27 on the game. Northrop would lead 54-49 at the end of three.
In the final quarter, it was the Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN show for Northrop as he scored or assisted on the first 7 points of the quarter for the Bruins as they were able to extend their lead out to 9 at 62-53. Marion was never able to overcome this deficit despite a valient effort from Cubie Jones, but Northrop would hold on to a 71-63 victory.
Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN led the way for both teams with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. Devin Campos added 8 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists in a great all-around game, and Jayden Schmenk Jayden Schmenk 6'0" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023 IN added 11 points and 4 steals. For Marion, Cubie Jones led the way with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 6 steals in a near triple/quadruple-double. Jaymen Townsend Jaymen Townsend 6'6" | SF Marion | 2025 State #248 Nation IN added 12 and Taden Metzger Taden Metzger 6'3" | SG Fishers | 2024 State IN added 11 for the Giants in the win.
On Sunday, we will be back with some player evaluations from this game. For now, Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN is a man, and he is going to make an immediate impact at UIC. The underclassman duo of Taden Metzger Taden Metzger 6'3" | SG Fishers | 2024 State IN and Jaymen Townsend Jaymen Townsend 6'6" | SF Marion | 2025 State #248 Nation IN is going to be very good for the next couple of years, and Cubie Jones deserves a chance at the Division 3 level as he showed several signs of excellence in this one. Northrop is Snider’s biggest competition in Sectional 5, and Jalen Jackson Jalen Jackson 6'2" | PG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2022 State IN will be the difference-maker in that game.