Winterset outlasts Marion in Class 3A state tournament overtime thriller

DES MOINES — It hurts like hell when you lose a game at the state tournament. Especially one that goes to overtime.

But despite being a bunch of teenagers, members of the Marion boys’ basketball team were able to put an 81-77 defeat to Winterset in a classic of a Class 3A quarterfinal at Wells Fargo Arena in some proper perspective.

At least one member was able to do that, and that is so, so much to his credit.

“It’s more than just basketball,” said Marion’s Brayson Laube. “Playing a team like that, it always sucks to lose, but it’s bigger than basketball. Sometimes you have to look at their perspective. They have tough things going on outside the game. Show a little respect to them for that.”

Show a lot of respect to these kids from Winterset. They saw their town beaten up badly by an E-4 tornado that struck Saturday night, killing six members of the community, including two young kids.

They’ve been doing a lot of cleanup work for others, trying to make some sense of this tragedy. All the while preparing for this game.

“It’s tough to stay focused on basketball, with all this going on,” said Winterset’s Levi Gurwell. “A lot of us are out cleaning up, helping out. We tried to stay focused, stay focused (for sure) when we got here.”

“It shows a lot about our guys,” said Winterset Coach John Henry. “They’re resilient, as our community has been the last few days.”

» Photos: Marion vs. Winterset in Class 3A state quarterfinals

Boy, this was some game. Back and forth, runs from both clubs, heroics from both clubs.

Marion’s largest lead was five points, Winterset’s six. It was tied a total of seven minutes and 24 seconds.

You had 14-up after one quarter, 27-26 Winterset at halftime, 49-47 Winterset after three quarters. Winterset led by four with just over a minute left, but Marion tied it suddenly on a Payton Hodges driving hoop and an ensuing steal off full-court pressure defense and a layup by Alex Mota.

Overtime at 69 apiece.

“We did a great job coming back,” said Marion Coach Pete Messerli. “The kids never lost faith, lost hope. They kept believing and played their tails off.”

A couple of costly Marion turnovers in OT and a bunch of Winterset free throws made the difference. Brayden Dinkla of the Huskies came in averaging 9.8 points but had 26 here, while teammate Nathan Avery came in averaging 7.8 but went off for 22.

Winterset (20-5) plays top-seeded Dallas Center-Grimes in a Thursday semifinal. Marion ends at 19-6, still searching for its first win at this tournament since 1952.

With four starters back, including leading scorers Laube (who was marvelous in this game with 35 points) and Alex Mota (who had 16 here), you probably haven’t heard the last of these Wolves.

“Coming into the season, I think people kind of underestimated us,” Laube said. “Our team, we all care about each other. We all talk about it. We love each other.”

“They came a long ways this year, and it was really fulfilling coaching them,” Messerli said.

AT DES MOINES

MARION (77): Brayson Laube 12-23 10-10 35, Alex Mota 7-12 2-5 16, Jordan Fischer 0-2 0-0 0, Myles Davis 0-2 0-0 0, Boede Rahe 3-8 2-2 8, Nathan Whalen 0-0 0-0 0, Calen Claypool 2-3 1-4 5, Payton Hodges 4-8 2-2 13, Kaden Frommelt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 17-23 77.

WINTERSET (81): Levi Gurwell 7-13 1-2 16, Dawson Forgy 2-6 0-0 4, Brayden Dinkla 9-18 8-11 26, Nathan Avery 7-10 4-6 22, Blake Bellamy 1-5 0-0 2, Eli Adkins 0-0 0-0 0, Maddux Weeks 0-0 0-0 0, Charlie McDonald 3-10 3-4 11, Grant Feuring 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 16-23 81.

Halftime - Winterset 27, Marion 26. End of Regulation - 69-69. 3-point goals - Marion 4-16 (Laube 1-7, Mota 0-2, Davis 0-1, Hodges 3-6), Winterset 7-18 (Gurwell 1-2, Forgy 0-2, Dinkla 0-1, Avery 4-6, McDonald 2-5). Rebounds - Marion 34 (Mota 8), Winterset 34 (McDonald 12). Total fouls - Marion 19, Winterset 18. Fouled out - Forgy. Assists - Marion 10 (Rahe 3), Winterset 11 (Dinkla 5). Turnovers - Marion 16, Winterset 14.

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