After a bright start to the season last week against Mayville, the Hatchets came home here Wednesday to face GTE title contender Marlette. Bad Axe, though, squandered its chance to make an early statement, dropping a 68-32 GTC crossover decision to the Red Raiders.
“This was our first test and I know I am not happy with it,” said Bad Axe coach Jim Quinn. “And I know the players aren’t happy with it.”
The Hatchets actually trailed by just five points midway through the third quarter before the Red Raiders poured it on, using a huge end-of-the-period flurry to grab an 18-point advantage.
From there, a 12-0 Marlette spurt to open the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.
“They ran that press and we kind of went brain-dead and all of a sudden, boom, boom, boom... When you’re five or seven points down you’re kind of hanging on the cliff anyway,” Quinn said. “We had it to five, but then it was 10, and then it was 25.”
Marlette, which knocked off Reese in its season opener last week, put 11 players into the scorebook, paced by Alex Storm’s 15 points and Kyle Hall’s 13 points.
“They are a very good basketball team,” Quinn said. “They run the floor well, they’re tall and they play well together.”
After having five players tally double figures in the season opener, the Hatchets had just one here Wednesday night. Jesse Quinn hit the mark with 10 points while Ethan Sisco had seven and Scott Krug six.
“Offensively, we didn’t do very well at all,” Quinn said. “Everybody has to know their jobs. I think we have some guys who are still searching for their roles.
“We have some guys who we want shooting the ball and we have a few guys who we want penetrating. Everybody has to know their job and do their job. We didn’t have that tonight.”
Trailing by 10 at the half, the Hatchets got a pair of three-pointers from Sisco to cut the deficit to five with 4:37 to play in the third quarter.
Marlette, though, then turned on the jets, forcing several turnovers with its press. In a matter of a few minutes, and sparked by a couple of steals and hoops from Donnie Thomas, the Red Raiders bolted to a 45-27 lead. Eight players scored for Marlette in the fourth quarter when the Red Raiders outscored the Hatchets 23-5.
Bad Axe travels to Harbor Beach on Friday.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us,” Quinn said.
The Red Raiders led 10-5 after one quarter and used an 8-0 run to open the second to grab a 25-15 lead at the half. Storm had seven points in the frame for the winners.
“At halftime we were down 10, but we had played terribly — so I wasn’t too disappointed in that,” Quinn said. “Then they had that stretch in the third quarter which was basically the game.”
PHOTOS FROM BA-MARLETTE
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| Bad Axe’s Jordan Dorsch converts on a half-hook shot for the Hatchets in the opening quarter. |
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| Marlette’s Alex Storm tries to block the shot from Bad Axe’s Spencer Kelly. |
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| Marlette’s Kolby Lange makes a move to the hoop against Bad Axe’s Brandon Dean. |
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| Bad Axe's Jesse Quinn and Marlette's Kyle Jickling tangle in the paint. |
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| Marlette’s Alex Storm goes up for a one-handed jumper against Bad Axe’s Spencer Kelly. |
WEDNESDAY’S BOYS RESULTS
Marlette 68, Bad Axe 32
EPBP 74, Mayville 39
Harbor Beach 51, Cass City 38
BCAS 58, Ubly 54
Sandusky 35, Vassar 30
Brown City 61, Deckerville 32
Bangor John Glenn 54, Reese 53 OT
2 comments:
Way to go Marlette
Wow. BCAS may be the real deal.
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