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Panthers drop league opener to Bulldogs, 63-54

MARYSVILLE — Turnovers were an issue through the game for the Concordia Panthers, and the issue over the closing minutes.
Trailing Marysville just 55-51 with under three minutes to play, Concordia turned the ball over on five consecutive offensive possessions.
Marysville was able to outscore the Panthers 8-0 over the stretch to pull away to a 63-54 North Central Kansas League victory Tuesday night.
Concordia finished its league opener with 21 turnovers.
“We work on these things in practice, and we tell them we have to fix our mistakes, and in the last three or four minutes of the game we didn't execute. We made some of the same silly mistakes we have been making. To beat good teams you can't do that,” Concordia coach Derek Holmes said.
“Wyatt had a great game. He got the basket a lot,” Holmes said.
Now 2-1 overall, Concordia went back and forth with an undefeated Marysville team over the first 29 minutes of the game with neither team leading by more than five points.
The Bulldogs, 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league, went up 50-45 when Gavin Pieschel scored early in the fourth period.
Back-to-back baskets by Wyatt Trost pulled the Panthers back within a point, 50-49.
Trost led Concordia with 20 points. He was 9 of 13 from the field and two of two from the free throw line, and also had eight rebounds and seven assists..
“Wyatt had a great game. He did a good job of getting to the basket,” Holmes said.
Jackson Rader knocked down his third three-point shot of the game to give Marysville a 53-49 advantage with 3:33 remaining in the game.
Chase Parker scored inside, and Concordia was down just 53-51.
Committing five straight turnovers, the Panthers would go scoreless for over two minutes.
Marysville got field goals by Bryar O'Neil and Ben Kirkland and then connected on four of seven free throws to go up 61-51.
Cav Carlgren made one of two free throws for Concordia to end the scoreless stretch and make it 61-52 with just 30 seconds on the clock.
Pieschel made two free throws to put Marysville up 63-52.
Two free throws by Trost closed out the scoring.
“We felt like we let one get away by not executing and turning the ball over,” Holmes said.
Concordia scored the first four points of the game.
Marysville used a 9-2 spurt to go up 9-6.
The Panthers scored the next six points, four by Aceyn Cash, to reclaim the lead at 12-9.
Parker scored the first two points of the second quarter, and Concordia was up 14-9.
Pieschel would hit a pair of three-point shots during an 11-2 run that gave Marysville the lead back at 20-16.
Concordia would pull even on four occasions over the final three minutes of the first half.
A basket by Parker with just over a second on the clock tied the game at 31-31.
The Panthers would open up its biggest lead of the game, 39-34, early in the second half.
“We did a good job of getting the ball inside when we didn't turn it over,” Holmes said. “And we finished better. Our shooting percentage was over 50 percent.”
The Panthers made 24 of 43 field goal attempts for 56 percent.
Consecutive threes by Jack Lauer and Kirkland gave Marysville a 40-39 cushion.
“That was a big swing. We had a couple of defensive mistakes. We were up five and then they hit those two threes in a row,” Holmes said. “But then we fought back. Our kids do a good job, when they get down they battle.”
Tyler Hobrock, who was hampered by foul trouble, scored inside, and Concordia was up 41-40.
That would be the last lead of the game for the Panthers.
Two free throws by Lauer and a layup by Kirkland made it a 44-41 Marysville lead.
Carlgren scored two to get Concordia within a point, 44-43, going into the fourth quarter.
The two teams traded baskets to start the final period.
Buckets by Kirkland and Pieschel gave Marysville a 50-45 lead.
The Panthers would get within a point, but were unable to wrestle the lead away from the Bulldogs in the closing minutes.
Parker joined Trost in double figures with 14 points. He was 7 of 12 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.
Carlgren added nine points.
Pieschel paced Marysville with 23 points. Kirkland scored 13.
Concordia will host Abilene in a league game on Friday night.
“They (Abilene) are ranked fourth in the state. They are very, very big and talented. They have got five starters back from last year. So it is obviously going to be a huge challenge for us at our place,” Holmes said. “I believe in our kids and I am confident we are going to respond and bounce back and be ready to go.”

CONCORDIA (54)
Vignery 0-0-4 0, Trost 9-2-2 20, Cash 2-0-3 4, Carlgren 3-3-5 9, Henderson 1-0-0 3. Hobrock 2-0-5 4, Parker 7-0-3 14. Totals: 24-5-22 54.
MARYSVILLE (63)
Pieschel 7-6-2 23, O'Neil 3-2-1 8, Rader 3-0-1 9, Kirkland 5-2-4 13, Smith 0-0-4 0, Williams 1-1-4 3, Lauer 2-2-2 7. Totals; 31-13-18 63.

 

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