Hardwood Heroes
Marauders Triumph Over Southern In Season Opener
By: Nick Henthorn
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POMEROY, Ohio- With the 2019-2020 basketball season dawning for high schools around the country, the Meigs Marauders were able to start theirs off on the right foot, defeating the Southern Tornadoes on Friday 63-53.
Seven different Marauders found their way into the scoring column, including four players with nine or more points in what was a well balanced offensive attack for Meigs. The Marauders were led by Weston Baer, who picked up right where he left off last season, totaling 21 points against the Tornadoes, aided by five three-pointers.
The score at the half stood 30-28 in favor of the Marauders, as Southern received great minutes from Cole Steele, Trey McNickle, and Arrow Drummer. The trio scored nine, seven, and seven points in the first half, respectively. Steele would finish with 18, McNickle would finish with 11, and Drummer would finish with 15.
Meigs wouldn’t pull away until the fourth quarter, where Bobby Musser scored eight of his 16 points, and Baer canned two triples to add eight of his own in the last frame. Ultimately, Meigs would outscore Southern 21-12 in the fourth quarter, amping up their effort on both ends of the court to seal the game and start off the year with a win.
For head coach Jeremy Hill’s squad, this win gleaned some valuable information the Marauders can take going forward. Meigs got to the freethrow line 21 times, but only converted 12 of them, good for 57 percent. The Marauders will surely work to get that percentage up going forward.
Additionally, while Baer was raining in shots from deep, only one other Marauder converted from behind the line, with Coulter Cleland making two long-distance shots. Going forward, we will see whether or not Meigs will look to up their three-point production, or if their chosen style of play simply doesn’t demand a lot of volume from beyond the arc.
Next up for Marauders is another home contest against the Belpre Golden Eagles on Dec. 3. For the Tornadoes, they will stay on the road for the next match up against the South Gallia Rebels.