Hardwood Heroes Sports
Meigs Defend Home-Court Despite Turnovers, Missed Free Throws
By: Curtis Feder
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POMEROY, Ohio- On Tuesday night, the Meigs Marauders took on the Belpre Golden Eagles in a gritty battle in Pomeroy, Ohio.
To start the game, it took nearly three minutes for there to be any scoring. There was a plethora of fouls and turnovers from both sides, and the effort and will to win was demonstrated by the players on the court from the opening tip.
Meigs trailed after a low scoring first quarter, but came out firing in the second; forcing an early timeout to be called by Belpre after they quickly tied the game.
The Marauders began to utilize their full court press, and even after the timeout Belpre could not find a way to stop the bleeding.
Meigs went on a 9-0 run in that quarter, causing turnovers and wreaking havoc with their effective full court press, and went into the locker room with a six point halftime lead.
Throughout the second half, the intensity grew every second. The noise from the crowd increased, the expressions of the coaches became more animated, and each call a referee made was amplified.
Bodies were flying on the floor, and the sloppiness in the game became increasingly apparent. Fouls were being called every other play, the turnover stats wouldn’t stop rising, and the Marauders struggled to put the game away with their poor free throw shooting.
Throughout the game, the player who made his impact known was Meigs senior shooting guard Weston Baer.
He scored 24 points, and did not rest on the bench for a second. When the Marauders needed a bucket, they looked for number 20. He also contributed on the defensive side, and made a buzzer-beating three pointer to end the third quarter and keep momentum on Meigs’ side.
The fight never ended in this match up, as Belpre came roaring back in the fourth quarter, leading to the score being 51 apiece with 3:45 left to play, with the game up for the taking.
When the team needed it most, Meigs came in clutch going on a 7-0 crunch time run, but the Golden Eagles would not go away.
Within the last minute, Belpre kept the home team on their toes, by continuously scoring and keeping within striking distance. The Marauders had to earn every point and take care of the ball to finish off their resilient opponent.
In the end, Meigs fought to the bitter end in an ugly yet satisfying four point victory, taking down Belpre 65-61. Meigs will play their first road game of the season as they take on the Warren Warriors Friday night at 7 pm.