Tough Williamsburg basketball squad takes down Marion

MARION - The Williamsburg Raiders are the favorites in the Wamac Conference's West Division. You'd have to say that's by quite a margin.

'For good reason,” Marion Coach Mike Manderscheid said after Williamsburg knocked off his club, 53-37, Friday night.

Or for good reasons. Williamsburg has some length, some good guards, five senior starters and an ability to get after it defensively.

Let's just say you're going to win a lot when you don't allow the opponent to get to 40 points, and that's what the Raiders have been able to do in back-to-back games. It was 34 points given up to Grinnell last Saturday, with this not being quite as good.

But still plenty good enough.

'We have been defending,” said Williamsburg Coach Dave Schlabaugh. 'We've been guarding. That's been good for us.”

The Raiders locked down on Marion guard Craig Engle, holding him to 5-of-17 shooting and 12 points, five under his average. The Indians had some solid interior looks but couldn't knock them down.

'Engle was definitely a big part of the game plan,” said Williamsburg guard Zach Schlabaugh, the coach's son. 'He's been hot. He's good, we knew that. So we just tried to make him take tough shots. Try and get the ball out of his hands.”

Williamsburg (8-1) scored the first 13 points of the second quarter to build a double-digit lead it never relinquished. The Raiders are 5-0 in the division, a game up on Clear Creek-Amana (which it plays at home Tuesday) and now two ahead of Marion.

There is a lot of season left, but if the other teams don't watch it, Williamsburg just might pull away.

'Coach really emphasizes game to game with us,” said Williamsburg's Josh Koeppel. 'The next one is the biggest one. I mean, I know, obviously, that some kids might look ahead at our schedule, but we really just try to focus on what game's next.”

Koeppel finished with 15 points, one less than guard mate Adam Klein, the Iowa City West transfer. They combined to go 14 of 17 from the free-throw line, continually getting out in transition and drawing fouls.

'It might sound like a cliche, but we've really been preaching to just get better every day and what's next,” Coach Schlabaugh said. 'We talked in the locker room before the game about what's next. Well, tonight, it was being here, on the road against a real tough Marion team. So now what's next is practicing and getting ready for the next games. The guys believe in that.”

Engle hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Marion a win Tuesday night over West Delaware, which made this proving-ground game even more disappointing for the Indians.

'We just didn't finish as best we could have tonight,” said Manderscheid. 'I thought we got a lot of shots we wanted.”

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AT MARION

WILLIAMSBURG (53): Jackson Subbert 1-2 0-0 2, Brady Stewart 2-2 2-2 6, Adam Klein 4-11 8-11 16, Josh Koeppel 4-9 6-7 15, Zach Schlabaugh 2-7 1-2 6, Ben Subbert 1-3 0-1 2, Allyn Francis 1-1 0-0 3, Derek Greiner 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Heishusen 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 16-36 17-23 53.

MARION (37): Derek Smith 3-4 2-3 8, Terrence Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Jacob Manderscheid 1-6 0-0 3, Craig Engle 5-17 1-2 12, Baylor Fish 2-7 2-2 7, Devin Quinn 2-5 2-2 6, DeShaun Quinn 0-2 1-2 1, Cody Alberts 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 8-11 37.

Halftime - Williamsburg 27, Marion 13. 3-point goals - Williamsburg 4-14 (Klein 0-2, Koeppel 1-6, Schlabaugh 1-4, Francis 1-1, Heitshusen 1-1), Marion 3-14 (Williams 0-2, Manderscheid 1-4, Engle 1-5, Fish 1-3). Rebounds - Williamsburg 29 (Stewart 7), Marion 22 (DeShaun Quinn 7). Total fouls - Williamsburg 11, Marion 18. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Williamsburg 10, Marion 9.

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