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Marshfield evens record with win
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 | No comments posted.
After starting the Midwestern League season 1-4, Marshfield's boys basketball team has climbed back into the playoff race.
The Pirates pulled back to the .500 mark at the midway point of the league season by beating visiting Springfield 68-53, though Marshfield's third straight win was a lot closer than the final score indicated.
“After starting 1-4, this is the best we could hope for,” said Marshfield coach Doug Miles, whose team has a chance to get above the .500 mark and avenge one of its first-half defeats when Willamette visits on Friday.
“We've got a long ways to go, but I think we are getting better all the time,” Miles said. “We're playing great basketball right now.”
Actually, the Pirates only played great basketball for stretches on Tuesday, particularly in the second half.
Marshfield scored the first seven points of the game, led 13-9 after the first quarter and went up 24-14 on a twisting lay-in by Norm Holcombe with 4:40 to go in the second quarter.
But then the Pirates fell asleep on defense, allowing the Millers to claw back into the game. Springfield tied the game at 28 when Trevor Thurn's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer bounced high off the rim and backboard and fell through the net.
That led to a motivating halftime discussion by Miles.
“The first half, we didn't come out ready to play,” said Marshfield's Max Stolle, who didn't miss a shot while scoring a career-high 17 points. “Defense is what we're known for. To not play defense is a letdown. We came out and executed in the second half.”
Springfield did not score for nearly four minutes at the start of the second half and the Pirates scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by Clay Geyer and a rim-shaking two-handed dunk on a fast break by Jake Welsh. Though the Millers had just four turnovers in the first half, they had five before scoring in the second half.
“We started stealing the ball and playing better team defense,” said Marshfield junior Riley Stacey.
Marshfield never gave the lead up after the early spurt, though Springfield cut the edge to two points at one time and was still within four at 43-39 entering the final quarter.
The Pirates pulled away in the final eight minutes behind a combination of good free throw shooting - Marshfield was 14-for-18 from the line - and good passing to set up inside hoops.
The Pirates also got the ball inside effectively in the first half while building their early lead. Marshfield had assists on 15 of its 25 baskets, including four assists by Tav Scott and three each by Holcombe and Vincent Mayes.
“We've been stressing that in practice,” said Stolle, who was 8-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the foul line.
Marshfield finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (25-for-50) after making just 12 of 30 shots in the opening half.
“I think we were a lot less selfish and moved the ball (in the second half),” Miles said.
Holcombe finished with a team-high 21 points for Marshfield, while Geyer had seven and Welsh six. Thurn led Springfield with 23 points and Miles Haley added 20. No other Millers scored more than four points.
As a team, Springfield was just 6-for-14 from the floor in the second half against Marshfield's better defense.
One other glaring stat in Marshfield's favor was the rebounding battle. The Pirates had 38 boards to just 16 for Springfield. Marshfield also had 14 offensive rebounds to just two for the Millers. Stolle led the way with eight rebounds and John Parrish added seven.
“We've out-rebounded every team we've played since Corvallis,” Miles said, referring to a game in the school's holiday tournament.
The Pirates also have started on a win streak, and no matter how ugly parts of Tuesday's game were, the end result was the right one for Marshfield.
“We needed to get a win,” Stacey said.
Now the Pirates will look for another strong game against Willamette, which hasn't won since beating the Pirates in the season opener.
“We've just got to show up ready to play and get the fire going,” Stolle said.
Notes: The win was a nice present for twins Riley and Rayce Stacey, who celebrated their 17th birthday on Tuesday. Marshfield is one game behind NorthEugene and Churchill, teams tied for third place at 5-3.
The Pirates pulled back to the .500 mark at the midway point of the league season by beating visiting Springfield 68-53, though Marshfield's third straight win was a lot closer than the final score indicated.
“After starting 1-4, this is the best we could hope for,” said Marshfield coach Doug Miles, whose team has a chance to get above the .500 mark and avenge one of its first-half defeats when Willamette visits on Friday.
“We've got a long ways to go, but I think we are getting better all the time,” Miles said. “We're playing great basketball right now.”
Actually, the Pirates only played great basketball for stretches on Tuesday, particularly in the second half.
Marshfield scored the first seven points of the game, led 13-9 after the first quarter and went up 24-14 on a twisting lay-in by Norm Holcombe with 4:40 to go in the second quarter.
But then the Pirates fell asleep on defense, allowing the Millers to claw back into the game. Springfield tied the game at 28 when Trevor Thurn's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer bounced high off the rim and backboard and fell through the net.
That led to a motivating halftime discussion by Miles.
“The first half, we didn't come out ready to play,” said Marshfield's Max Stolle, who didn't miss a shot while scoring a career-high 17 points. “Defense is what we're known for. To not play defense is a letdown. We came out and executed in the second half.”
Springfield did not score for nearly four minutes at the start of the second half and the Pirates scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by Clay Geyer and a rim-shaking two-handed dunk on a fast break by Jake Welsh. Though the Millers had just four turnovers in the first half, they had five before scoring in the second half.
“We started stealing the ball and playing better team defense,” said Marshfield junior Riley Stacey.
Marshfield never gave the lead up after the early spurt, though Springfield cut the edge to two points at one time and was still within four at 43-39 entering the final quarter.
The Pirates pulled away in the final eight minutes behind a combination of good free throw shooting - Marshfield was 14-for-18 from the line - and good passing to set up inside hoops.
The Pirates also got the ball inside effectively in the first half while building their early lead. Marshfield had assists on 15 of its 25 baskets, including four assists by Tav Scott and three each by Holcombe and Vincent Mayes.
“We've been stressing that in practice,” said Stolle, who was 8-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the foul line.
Marshfield finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (25-for-50) after making just 12 of 30 shots in the opening half.
“I think we were a lot less selfish and moved the ball (in the second half),” Miles said.
Holcombe finished with a team-high 21 points for Marshfield, while Geyer had seven and Welsh six. Thurn led Springfield with 23 points and Miles Haley added 20. No other Millers scored more than four points.
As a team, Springfield was just 6-for-14 from the floor in the second half against Marshfield's better defense.
One other glaring stat in Marshfield's favor was the rebounding battle. The Pirates had 38 boards to just 16 for Springfield. Marshfield also had 14 offensive rebounds to just two for the Millers. Stolle led the way with eight rebounds and John Parrish added seven.
“We've out-rebounded every team we've played since Corvallis,” Miles said, referring to a game in the school's holiday tournament.
The Pirates also have started on a win streak, and no matter how ugly parts of Tuesday's game were, the end result was the right one for Marshfield.
“We needed to get a win,” Stacey said.
Now the Pirates will look for another strong game against Willamette, which hasn't won since beating the Pirates in the season opener.
“We've just got to show up ready to play and get the fire going,” Stolle said.
Notes: The win was a nice present for twins Riley and Rayce Stacey, who celebrated their 17th birthday on Tuesday. Marshfield is one game behind NorthEugene and Churchill, teams tied for third place at 5-3.
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