Lessons to learn for Marion after tough OT loss to Waverly-Shell Rock in season opener

MARION - Marion’s coaching staff had a question for its players in the locker room Tuesday night after a disheartening, 63-60, overtime season-opening loss to Waverly-Shell Rock.

It had nothing to do with the effort given by the group. There were no real play or plays analyzed thoroughly.

The question asked was meant to prove a point the coaches wanted driven home. How many of them sitting dejectedly in that room played more minutes tonight than they ever had in a varsity game before?

A lot of hands were raised. A lot.

“We grew a lot tonight,” Marion Coach Pete Messerli said. “We improved immensely from our scrimmage last week against Cedar Falls. We’re still figuring things out. But the guys played super hard, and we can do a lot of good when they play hard.”

As Messerli noted, this is a new group (as it almost always is in high school) that is finding its way. Austin Goodrich was the leading returning scorer from last season’s substate finalist, and he had a difficult time really getting going, scoring 12 points, 10 in the first half and OT.

Sophomore Tait Rahe splashed his first five 3-point shot attempts in the game and scored a team-high 16 points. All that damage came in the first half.

Mason Wagner made four 3s and finished with 13 points in his debut. He’s a senior transfer from Linn-Mar, where he never saw varsity action.

“It stinks to lose,” Messerli said. “We are all competitors, and we all want to win. But it’s the cliche about the process. We’re focusing on that. We’re buying into it. We got better even with a loss.”

Marion led by eight after the first quarter and by a 38-26 margin at halftime, thanks almost solely to the 3. Eleven of the Wolves’ 12 field-goal makes were from beyond the arc, and they were hot, making 11 of 20 overall.

But Waverly-Shell Rock seemed to get after it defensively with a renewed intensity in the second half and clawed its way back into the game. Marion still led by nine, 56-47, with 4:17 to go, but guard Nathan Miller gave Marion a taste of its own 3-ball medicine down the stretch, hitting three huge ones in a row, the latter making it a 58-all tie.

That was the score going to overtime. A pair of Luke Frazell free throws with 1:06 left in OT put Waverly-Shell Rock on top, 62-60, and Marion didn’t score the rest of the way.

“They’re a good defensive team,” Messerli said. “They’re well coached, they’ve got athletes all over the floor. So the struggles we had are a credit to them.”

Marion finished 20 of 64 from the floor, including 13 of 37 from 3-point range. It also committed 20 turnovers.

Frazell had 17 points for W-SR, with Miller adding 14 and freshman guard Jaden Stephens 14 off the bench.

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AT MARION

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK (63): Luke Frazell 5-15 5-8 17, Tyler Gade 2-7 2-2 6, Hudson Kroymann 2-5 0-0 5, Nathan Miller 5-7 0-0 14, Brady Bodensteiner 1-3 1-4 3, Jaden Stephens 6-11 2-3 14, Gavin Stockdale 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 23-54 10-17 63.

MARION (60): Mason Wagner 4-10 1-2 13, Grayson Kirsch 2-12 0-0 4, Tait Rahe 5-15 1-2 16, Jaryn Griffith 3-9 0-0 8, Austin Goodrich 4-13 3-4 12, Tyler Farber 0-1 2-2 2, Brooks Coates 1-3 0-0 2, Caden Kinzenbaw 0-0 0-0 0, Calvin Andresen 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 20-64 7-10 60.

Halftime - Marion 38, Waverly-Shell Rock 26. End of Regulation - 58-58. 3-point goals - Waverly-Shell Rock 7-23 (Frazell 2-7, Gade 0-4, Kroymann 1-2, Miller 4-5, Stephens 0-1, Stockdale 0-4), Marion 13-37 (Wagner 4-9, Kirsch 0-4, Rahe 5-10, Griffith 2-6, Goodrich 1-6, Andresen 1-2). Rebounds - Waverly-Shell Rock 29 (Frazell 8), Marion 41 (Kirsch 8). Total fouls - Waverly-Shell Rock 16, Marion 18. Technical foul - Bodensteiner. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Waverly-Shell Rock 11, Marion 20.

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