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Tigers win 1st sectional title since 2009

By Mike Morrison 6 min read

VINCENT -- For the first time in 14 years the Marietta Tigers boys basketball team are sectional champions.

Top-seeded Marietta traveled to Warren High School Saturday night and downed the No. 9 seeded Fairfield Union Falcons 52-34 in the Division II sectional championship game to earn a trip to district play at the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University for the first time since 2009.

For the second time in the tournament the tenacious Tiger defense held their opponent to under 35 points and seniors Elijah Lieras-Kelley and Alex Kendall tossed in 12 points apiece to lead the Tigers to their eighth straight win.

"It wasn't pretty and it was a very physical game but I just thought we kept battling all the way through," said Marietta head coach Austin Gardner. "We played through our mistakes which I love and it turned out to be an awesome experience."

The Falcons, who ousted the Tigers from the playoffs last season before making it all the way to the Elite Eight, gave MHS all it wanted and then some throughout most of the first half.

Fairfield Union led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter and took a four-point lead early in the second on a pair of field goals by junior Keegan Arnett, both coming off assists from senior Caleb Schmelzer.

After struggling offensively early on the Tigers began to find their way as they got back-to-back triples from junior Brayden Jones and Lieras-Kelley, both coming on assists from the 6-foot-8 Kendall.

Kendall's ability to see the floor coupled with his size makes him a special talent on the offensive end of the floor.

"That's just another aspect of this team being able to hit shots out of the post when they double," said Kendall. "It's nice that I can see the floor like that and can move the ball around and it's great when we knock down the shots."

The Falcons tied things back up on an offensive rebound and put-back by Arnett, but the Tigers got an old-fashioned three-point play from Kendall and a floater from inside the foul-line by Lieras-Kelley to take a five-point lead (24-19) into the halftime break.

Lieras-Kelley scored 10 points in the opening half to help keep the Tigers afloat while they looked to find their rhythm offensively.

"We talk about carryover from practice to games and Eli has definitely carried it over and we needed it," said Gardner of Lieras-Kelley. "He got to the basket and made people pay and made free throws and he just led how a senior is supposed to."

Kendall scored seven points in the opening half while taking just four shots, but the Findlay Oiler to-be came out strong in the second half.

The Tigers immediately got the ball to the big man to start the third quarter and he drove strong to the basket for two to push the lead to seven.

Schmelzer duplicated Kendall's feat on the other end, but on the Tigers' next possession Kendall showed his ability to shoot the ball as he canned a triple to give the Tigers a 29-21 lead.

"The kid guarding Alex had two fouls on him and we ran an isolation play at the elbow for him to start the half," said Gardner. "He made a play and got things going for us and then hit that big 3 for us as well."

Fairfield Union came charging right back when Koen Eichorn banked in what would be the only 3-pointer of the night for the Falcons and Arnett followed with a two-pointer to quickly cut the lead back to three.

While Kendall and Lieras-Kelley garner much of the attention for the Tigers, they also have a couple of outstanding athletes in senior Izak Knighten and sophomore Zaiden Wittekind, and that duo showed off that athleticism in a big way as Marietta began to stretch out its lead.

Knighten converted an old-fashioned three-point play off of a great pass from Seth Britton and Wittekind followed suit by picking up the ball in transition and driving the length of the court for the and-one to give the Tigers a 35-26 lead.

Marietta was able to push the lead into double-digits with 3:15 to play in the third on a left-handed finish by Lieras-Kelley and they carried a 10-point lead into the final quarter.

The Falcons struck first in the final quarter on an Eichorn bucket but that would be their final points of the game as the Tigers finished the game on a 10-0 run to claim the sectional title in just Gardner's second year at the helm.

Kendall completed a double-double as he yanked down a game-high 10 rebounds in addition to his 12 points.

"It's great to be part of a team that is making its mark on history at Marietta," said Kendall. "It's something that hasn't happened in awhile and we couldn't have a better team to get the job done."

Lieras-Kelley filled up his stat sheet nicely by adding four steals and three assists to his 12 points.

The Tiger senior point guard had high hopes of this squad reaching the Convo all along.

"I'm really excited and this means so much to me especially since it's my senior season," said Lieras-Kelley. "I hope we can continue this run."

Knighten, who added seven points and six boards to the Tiger attack, was also thrilled to have the chance to go play at the home of the Ohio University Bobcats.

"It feels great for sure but we still have some more work to do and I'm excited to see how far we can go," said Knighten. "It's been a great two years and it's so great to see the crowd and the community coming out to support us like they have."

Led by Kendall and Knighten, the Tigers out-rebounded the Falcons by a healthy 29-14 margin.

The win improved the Tigers season mark to 22-2, tying the record for most wins in school history.

The large crowd of Tiger faithful who made the short trip to Vincent stuck around after the game to watch the team cut down the nets and gave Gardner and his squad a rousing ovation to show their appreciation for the way they have changed the culture of Tiger basketball in two short seasons.

"When you see the fans pouring in an hour before the game, our kids are pretty excited about it," said Gardner. "It's awesome to see the fan support and they love how hard our kids play and how tough they are and most of all how they are good kids. That ovation was really special and our fans are tremendous."

Tiger assistant coach Zane Eschbaugh was a member of the last Tiger team to reach the Convo back in 2009.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Arnett (11) and Schmelzer (9) as their season came to a close with a 15-8 record.

MHS will open district play by taking on New Lexington in Athens on Monday, March 4, with tip-off time slated for 6:15 p.m.

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