Friday, February 17, 2006 10:53 PM CST
Marshall spoiler on Neoga’s Sr. Night
By Mike Monahan, Staff Writer
NEOGA -- “They had a size advantage on us,” said Marshall coach Tom Brannan. “We were able to tip some rebounds long and that was big.”
Things looked good for Neoga, leading by as much as 11 early in the second half and by nine with 3:47 left in the third quarter on Senior Night for four Neoga Indians, who are the fourth team in school history to win 20 games.
However, Marshall’s trapping defense causing several turnovers and the Lions went on a 12-1 run to take a 42-40 advantage early in the final quarter. Marshall took the lead for good when freshman Lucas Eitel broke the tie at 45 with a basket at the 5:28 mark. The Lions went on to post a 56-52 win Friday in a non-conference game.
“In the first quarter we moved the ball around and moved it well,” said Neoga coach Jason Hanson. “In the second quarter we were a little tentative and that continued the rest of the game. We were not as aggressive against their trap and we didn’t adjust to that. Hopefully this teaches us something we can take with us next week.”
After going 2-of-12 from the field during a span of 8:25, Marshall’s Logan Eitel sank a 3-pointer, one of nine in the game for the Lions, to end an 8-2 Neoga run early in the second half. After two free throws by Zach Ballinger for Neoga made it 39-30, Marshall began its pivotal run on a basket by Logan Eitel. Joey O’Rourke, who led all players with 17 points, drained one of his five 3-pointers and after a free throw by Neoga’s Erik Walk, O’Rourke canned another three-pointer making it a two-point game with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Marshall’s Lucas Eitel picked up a loose ball and sank a shot at the buzzer to bring the game to a tie after three quarters.
“That was a big turning point,” said Hanson of their three-minute run. “We turned the ball over and they took advantage of that.”
Marshall took a 49-45 lead on a basket by Derek Eitel with 4:31 left. The Lions took their largest lead of the game, 54-47 with 23 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Derek Eitel. Neoga’s Ray Zumbahlen ended the 24-8 run with a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left, but the Indians could not get any closer.
“This was a huge win,” said Brennan. “Especially coming into their place and against a good quality team.”
The Indians were just 3-of-14 in the final 12:19, while Marshall was 12-of-21 in the final 13:25.
Neoga scored seven of the first nine points and never trailed in the first half. The Indians largest lead was nine points, 29-20.
It was 21-18 after a 3-pointer by Marshall’s O’Rourke when Neoga went on an 8-2 run. Braden, Erik Walk, Andrew Ewing scored two points each and two free throws by Zumbahlen made it 29-20 with two minutes, 27 seconds left in the half.
“We did a good job of attacking their defense in the first half,” said Hanson.
Zumbahlen, Walk and David Massengill led Neoga with 13, 11 and 10 points respectively, while Derek Eitel had 13 for Marshall and twins Logan and Lucas Eitel finished with 14 and 10 respectively.
Neoga had 11 turnovers compared to just six for Marshall.
The Indians were 12-of-24 from the field in the first half against Marshall’s switching defense (man and 2-3), while the Lions were 9-of-23 against the Indians man-to-man.
Marshall improved to 15-13 and ended Neoga’s four-game winning streak.
Neoga, the No. 2 seed in the Shelbyville Sectional, is to play at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the winner of the Beecher City-Morrisonville game in the semifinals of the IHSA Class A Regional. The Indians are 20-5.
Marshall 12 10 18 16 —56
Neoga 18 11 11 12 —52
MARSHALL: O’Rourke 6-0-17; D. Eitel 5-2-13; Lu. Eitel 3-3-10; Lo. Eitel 6-0-14; Boyer 1-0-2; Byrd 0-0-0; Bullock 0-0-0; Totals 21-5-56
NEOGA: Massengill 5-0-10; E. Walk 4-1-11; Ballinger 1-4-7; Braden 3-0-7; Zumbahlen 4-4-13; Ewing 2-0-4; Jansen 0-0-0; A. Walk 0-0-0; Totals 19-9-52 3-point goals: Marshall 9 (O’Rourke 5, Lo. Eitel 2, D. Eitel, Lu. Eitel), Neoga 5 (E. Walk 2, Ballinger, Braden, Zumbahlen); Rebounds: Marshall 21 (D. Eitel 10), Neoga 26 (E. Walk 8); Turnovers: Marshall 6, Neoga 11; Shooting percentages: Marshall .428, Neoga .476
JV: Neoga 46, Marshall 36
Contact Mike Monahan at mmonahan@jg-tc.com or 238-6854.
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