Solon downs Marion to keep Eastern Division rolling in Wamac Conference

MARION - They call this a trend. It's a positive one if you're on one side, a disturbing one if you're on the other.

Solon's 59-52 win Friday night over Marion is part of what has been a clean sweep thus far for the Eastern Division in the Wamac Conference. There have been 15 inter-divisional games, and the east has been a beast, taking each and every one of them.

Is there that big of a gap this boys' basketball season?

'That's tough for me to say, unless I saw all the guys,” said Solon Coach Jason Pershing. 'I just know on our eastern side, there is just no night off. Everybody has five or six guys that play AAU ball, compete all year around. That part I do know. On the eastern side, there are just a ton of basketball players.”

The Eastern Division consists of Solon, Mount Vernon, Dyersville Beckman, Western Dubuque, West Delaware, DeWitt Central, Anamosa and Maquoketa. The Western Division is Marion, Williamsburg, Independence, South Tama, Clear Creek-Amana, Center Point-Urbana, Benton Community and Vinton-Shellsburg.

The league does officially declare two champions, and it's way, way early, so there's that.

'There are some good teams over there,” said Marion Coach Mike Manderscheid. 'And, probably, you've got to look at it matchup wise, too. Is one playing a one, two, three over there? Is our one playing a one, two, three over there? There probably is some disparity, but I do think we've got some pretty teams over on our end, though, too.”

Marion (0-2) played a great first quarter and led at halftime, 30-27, only to falter in the second half. Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say Solon surged in the second half.

The Spartans took their first lead, 34-33, midway through the third quarter on a Streeter McIlravy transition layup. He led his team with 17 points.

Solon (2-0) took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter, with Marion never getting closer than four the rest of the way. Jacob Manderscheid, the coach's son, had 21 points to lead all scorers.

'We have high expectations,” said McIlravy, son of three-time NCAA wrestling champion Lincoln McIlravy. 'We have a pretty good group of guys, and I think we can be really good. But we've got to not play like we did in the first quarter. We have to pick things up early, I guess.”

Solon is an aggressive team on both sides of the ball, which Pershing thinks is a detriment at times offensively. The Spartans shot 38 free throws, making 28, which proved to be the difference.

Marion turned it over 21 times and was outrebounded by 10. Halston Durr added 15 points for Solon.

'My guys are aggressive, and they have confidence,” Pershing said. 'It's about sharing the ball and just not rushing. I think our guys know they can score. Sometimes they just need to be a little more patient. We've been focusing on defense, I think our defense looks good, so that's a good thing. We are guarding, they are buying in defensively.”

'Quite a few of our turnovers were unforced,” Coach Manderscheid said. 'We're just not fundamental enough to come to a jump stop, make the pass. That was one thing that concerned me. They are aggressive defensively, get into the passing lanes. I was concerned about that coming in. But, overall, I think we improved from Tuesday night (a loss to Maquoketa). It's a process. We're learning, we're getting better. And I thought we looked like we were having some fun tonight. That was one thing we talked about. I didn't think the other night we looked like we were having much fun.”

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AT MARION

SOLON (59): Brevin Hill 2-8 1-1 5, Jacob Coons 2-4 3-5 7, Streeter McIlravy 4-11 9-13 17, Sterling McIlravy 0-2 3-4 3, Luke Ira 1-1 3-4 5, Halston Durr 3-8 9-11 15, Dylan Doyle 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Runyan 2-2 0-0 4, Zach Cusick 1-2 0-0 3, Ben Krutzfeld 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-38 28-38 59.

MARION (52): Ryan Whalen 2-5 0-0 4, Noah Walter 1-3 0-1 2, Chase Zielke 2-7 0-0 6, Jacob Manderscheid 5-10 7-8 19, Baylor Fish 1-4 4-5 7, Mitch Wiese 4-5 1-2 9, Chris Mohwinkle 0-0 0-0 0, Clayton Mohwinkle 2-3 0-0 5, Matthew Pflughaupt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-38 12-16 52.

Halftime – Marion 30, Solon 27. 3-point goals – Solon 1-12 (Hill 0-2, Coons 0-2, Ster. McIlravy 0-1, Stre. McIlravy 0-1, Durr 0-4, Cusick 1-2), Marion 6-13 (Manderscheid 2-4, Fish 1-2, Zielke 2-5, Cl. Mohwinkle 1-1, Pflughaupt 0-1). Rebounds – Solon 29 (Stre. McIlravy 7), Marion 19 (Wiese 7). Total fouls – Solon 19, Marion 26. Fouled out – Fish, Zielke, Cl. Mohwinkle). Turnovers – Solon 17, Marion 21.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com