Clayton Ridge hands Bulldog boys their first conference loss
Kaden Stocker scored nine points against Central. The Bulldogs won the game 71-31. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Wyatt Powell swiped six of MFL MarMac’s 16 steals in the Feb. 1 win over Central.
Carver Blietz-Bentien attempts to score against the Warriors.
Chauncy Drahn evades Central defenders to make a shot under the basket.
Parker Kuehl defends a Central player in last week's win.
Mason Kishman makes a two-point attempt in the Feb. 1 game versus the Warriors.
Cullen McShane hit three of the Bulldogs' shots from downtown, for nine of his15 points.
Zach Driscoll scores an easy layup against the Warriors.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac boys basketball team went 2-1 last week, scoring easy wins over Central and West Central before a tough loss to Clayton Ridge that marks the only blemish on the Bulldogs’ Upper Iowa Conference record.
The Eagles had a 16-13 edge through the first quarter of the Feb. 4 match-up in Monona, before an 18-4 second period propelled them to a 34-17 halftime lead. The Bulldogs had a huge scoring run of their own after the break, trimming the lead to 42-39 by the end of the third, but couldn’t complete a fourth quarter comeback. Clayton Ridge won 62-54.
The Eagles shot 46.5 percent from the field in the game, and made eight of 14 three-point attempts. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs hit just 38.1 percent of their shots, and out of 29 three-point tries, they made nine.
There was also a rebound disparity, with Clayton Ridge grabbing 29 to MFL MarMac’s 20. The Bulldogs snagged only four on the offensive end. The Eagle defense also picked up nine steals and two blocks, while the Bulldogs recorded six steals and no blocks.
Senior Kaden Stocker was MFL MarMac’s top scorer, with four shots from behind the arc adding to his 16-point total. He also had two steals, two assists and a rebound. Freshman Zach Driscoll made several three-pointers of his own, accounting for nine of 15 points, and earned five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Senior Cullen McShane’s stat line included 10 points and one each in the rebound, assist and steal columns, while sophomore Carver Blietz-Bentien contributed nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal.
MFL MarMac’s week began on a less intense note, with a 71-31 win over Central on Feb. 1. The Bulldogs got off to a 26-4 start in a game in which they shot over 45 percent from the field. They also out-rebounded the Warriors 39-19, swiped 16 steals and recorded four blocks.
McShane hit three of the team’s shots from downtown, for nine of his 15 points, and had a rebound, steal and block. Freshman Wyatt Powell finished the night with 14 points and a team leading six steals, in addition to four rebounds, four assists and a block. Driscoll tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Stocker had nine points, six rebounds, three steals and a block. Blietz-Bentien added seven points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
The Bulldogs’ margin was even larger in a 74-29 victory at West Central on Feb. 3. They led just 16-14 through the first quarter, but cranked out a 21-4 run in the second to go up 37-18 at halftime. The Blue Devils scored just 11 points the rest of the game, thanks to an MFL MarMac defense that tallied an unbelievable 25 steals along with two blocks.
Driscoll led the scoring effort with 14 points, and nine rebounds put him just shy of a double-double. He also picked up five assists and three steals. Powell was 6-10 from the field, for 12 points, and had six steals, four assists and three rebounds. Blietz-Bentien’s stat line included 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while McShane earned 10 points, five steals, two rebounds, an assist and a block. Stocker also pitched in 10 points along with a rebound and steal. Freshman Parker Kuehl was the sixth Bulldog to score in double digits, with 10 points, and added three steals and two rebounds off the bench.
MFL MarMac is now 16-4 overall and 14-1 in the conference heading into its final regular season and UIC game this week. A win over North Fayette Valley (12-8) on Feb. 8 would cement the Bulldogs’ top spot ahead of Clayton Ridge, which currently has two conference losses.
The team will start postseason play on Thursday, Feb. 17, hosting a Class 2A second round game against either Postville or NFV.
