Notebook: Marion Classic
The first holiday shootout of the year took place at Marion. The Marion Classic is an annual tournament that is pretty strong usually. With teams such as Lawrence Central, Fort Wayne North, Tindley, and Valparaiso we knew that it would be a great day of hoops and it didn’t disappoint.
Game 1: Indianapolis Northwest 61, Liberty Christian 54
In the first game of the day we saw two teams struggle early and then find their scoring in the fourth quarter. Northwest made more shots down the stretch and six turnovers for Liberty Christian in the fourth killed them. Keen Reed was the hot shooter in this one, making five including two in the fourth to spark his team to the win.
Top Performers:
Keen Reed | Northwest | 2020 5’1 G – 19 points, 3 assists, 5/10 3FG
Joshua Tufts | Liberty Christian | 2018 6’3 SG – 18 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists
Orlando Sutton | Liberty Christian | 2019 6’3 SF – 9 points, 8 rebounds
Jason Taylor | Northwest | 2018 6’4 PF – 16 points, 7 rebounds
Game 2: Lawrence Central 89, Lighthouse CPA 50
After a slow start, Lawrence Central turned it on scoring 75 points in the final three quarters. Lighthouse struggled the entire game with shooting the ball as they only were 15-of-55 from the floor. Lawrence Central crashed the boards hard bringing down 48 rebounds as well as running the floor really well in transition resulting in 34 points in the paint.
Top Performers:
Donyell Merideth | Lawrence Central | 2018 6’4 G/F – 17 points, 12 rebounds
Nijel Pack | Lawrence Central | 2020 5’10 PG – 17 points
Wesley Jordan | Lawrence Central | 2019 6’6 PF – 17 points, 7 rebounds
William Woodland | Lighthouse CPA | 2018 6’2 F – 14 points
Game 3: Tindley 76, FW Snider 67
This game was back and forth the entire way as the lead changed every quarter. Tindley held the lead 48-36 in the third quarter before Snider went on a 16-2 run to take the lead. Eric Hunter scored 43 points and killed Snider in every facet. Snider did slow him down in the second half when they went to a 1-3-1 zone, but just couldn’t hit their free throws down the stretch.
Top Performers:
Eric Hunter | Tindley | 2018 6’3 SG – 43 points, 9 rebounds
K.J Coleman | Tindley | 2018 5’10 G – 15 points
Dillon Duff | FW Snider | 2020 6’5 PF – 15 points
Sincere McMahon | Tindley | 2020 5’10 G – 12 points
Game 4: FW Dwenger 54, Gary Roosevelt 23
Both teams really struggled from the floor in this game. FW Dwenger finally got it going in the second half as they scored 34 points but Gary Roosevelt stayed cold the entire game. Gary only shot 14% from the floor and their leading scorer had five points. Dwenger forced 24 turnovers and really controlled the game holding Roosevelt to just five first half points, none in the second quarter.
Top performers:
John Henry Reith | FW Dwenger | 2018 6’4 PF – 14 points, 9 rebounds
Matt Kochanski | FW Dwenger | 2019 5’11 PG – 10 points, 5 assists
Marquise Smith | Gary Roosevelt | 2018 6’3 SF – 5 points
Latrell Williams | Gary Roosevelt | 2018 6’5 PF – 4 points, 9 rebounds
Game 5: FW North 68, Valparasio 63
In easily the best game of the day, FW North survived a scare. The Keion Brooks vs. Brandon Newman battle was really good and didn’t disappoint as they combined for 65 points and 26 rebounds. FW North finally looked like a high level 4A team because Valparasio isn’t a pushover by any means. FW North shot 50% from the field and really dominated Valparaiso on the boards.
Top Performers:
Brandon Newman | Valparasio | 2019 6’3 SG – 33 points, 13 rebounds
Keion Brooks | FW North | 2019 6’9 SF – 32 points, 13 rebounds
Austin Boucher | FW North | 2018 6’3 SG – 14 points, 4 assists
Marcus Gholston | Valparasio | 2018 6’3 PF – 8 points
Game 6: Marion 83, FW Wayne 81
The nightcap was just as entertaining as its predecessor. Marion and FW Wayne locked in a close battle with the biggest lead being six points by FW Wayne until the very end where Marion took the lead by seven. There was a ton of energy throughout and a lot of really good offense. Marion won the game on their home court to cap off the Marion Classic.
Top Performers:
Dillion Redding | FW Wayne | 2019 6’3 SG – 31 points (7/10 3FG), 6 rebounds
J.K Thomas | Marion | 2020 5’7 SG – 25 points
Jalen Blackmon | Marion | 2021 6’ PG – 20 points, 3 assists
Craig Young | FW Wayne | 2019 6’5 PF – 15 points, 12 rebounds