2/8/2010
Missed free throws doom Panthers in 40-37 defeat
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| Drew Bittner/Times Bulletin
Parkway’s Dillon Long (42) blocks a shot by Marion Local’s Jarren Griesdorn (10) during a game on Sunday, February 7, in Rockford. |
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BY DREW BITTNER
Times Bulletin Sports Editor
sports@timesbulletin.com
ROCKFORD - Defense wins games.
However, hitting free throws certainly help, too.
That's the lesson Parkway learned again on Sunday afternoon, as a great defensive effort by the Panthers went by the wayside due to a 47 percent shooting clip at the free throw line, and visiting Marion Local left Rockford with a 40-37 overtime victory.
Early on in the contest, it looked as if Parkway was on their way to an easy victory, as the Panthers jumped all over the Flyers in the first quarter.
Dillon Long put the game's first points on the board in the contest, and a Trevor Wuebker free throw, plus a bucket by Logan Hunter, quickly put Parkway up 5-0 before the Flyers' Jared Prenger got Marion Local on the board.
Ryan Steinbrunner and Hunter combined for six more points before the end of the quarter, and after one, the Panthers had staked themselves to an early 11-4 lead, playing stifling defense and keeping the Flyers' offensive weapons completely in check.
But Marion Local knocked down the first two buckets of the second quarter, cutting the lead to 11-8 after buckets by Jesse Winner and Travis Winner.
However, Hunter then reeled off four points of his own to put the lead back to seven, 15-8. The teams played evenly throughout the rest of the quarter, with the Panthers putting up ten more points to the Flyers' eight points, and at the break, it was Parkway with the upper hand, 25-16.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the second half was one they would just as soon forget. Marion Local's Travis Winner converted an old-fashioned three-point play to start the scoring in the second half, cutting the lead to 25-19. Those three points were the start of a 9-0 run by Marion Local, a run that spanned nearly the entire quarter.
Parkway was shut down completely by an aggressive Flyers' defense, and the Panthers first points of the second half came on two free throws by Steinbrunner with 43 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Those free throws proved to be the final points of the fourth quarter, and the teams headed into the game's final quarter with Parkway leading 27-25.
(From page B1)
"I thought they came out very aggressive," said Parkway coach Doug Hughes of the Flyer defense. "And I told the kids throughout the week in practice that the more aggressive team would come away with the win. Marion Local was just very aggressive in the second half and took us out of our game."
Parkway extended their lead back to three points at 30-27 shortly into the fourth quarter, thanks to several key defensive plays by Long, who converted those efforts into three points of his own.
But the Flyers suffocating and aggressive defense kept Parkway silent for another long stretch, and went on a 6-0 to take their first lead of the game at 33-30 with under a minute remaining in the game.
Steinbrunner then came back with a big offensive play again, putting in a layup, drawing the foul, and hitting the extra freebie to convert the three-point play and tie the game up with ten seconds remaining.
Marion Local couldn't convert their last possession into any points, and the teams headed into overtime knotted at 33-33. In the overtime, Parkway once again started out hot, as Blake King and Long knocked down shots to put the Panthers up quickly, 37-33.
Those would be the last points the Panthers would put on the board, however, as Marion Local reeled off the last seven points of the game and won by the 40-37 final.
Free throws proved to be the biggest area of discrepancy throughout the game, as Parkway only connected on eight of their 17 free throw attempts, while Marion Local hit 18-of-23 freebies.
"I thought we missed some key shots," said Hughes. "They made free throws and layups and we missed them. We shot 8-of-17 from the free throw line and missed several point-blank layups, some uncontested and some we got bumped. Either way, it doesn't matter, we missed them. That's what won the game for them and lost the game for us. They made shots and we missed them."
"For the most part, the defense played good," said Hughes of his team's effort. "To hold Marion Local to 40 points through 36 minutes of basketball is a good job, but we didn't put the game away and lost our chances."
Hunter and Steinbrunner led Parkway with 12 points each, and Steinbrunner added 11 rebounds in the effort. Brian Heitkamp led the Flyers with 10 points.
With the loss, Parkway falls to 9-8 on the season and 1-6 in the Midwest Athletic Conference. Marion Local improves to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in the MAC.
Score by quarter:
Marion Local 4 12 9 8 7 - 40
Parkway 11 14 2 6 4 - 37
Marion Local (40)
Elking 1 0-0 2, Prenger 3 2-3 8, Griesdorn 0 0-0 0, T. Winner 2 5-6 9, Heitkamp 4 2-2 10, Schulze 0 8-10 8, Mescher 0 1-2 1, J. Winner 1 0-0 2, Berning 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 18-23 40.
Parkway (37)
King 1 0-0 2, Nuttle 0 0-0 0, Decker 1 0-0 3, Hunter 6 0-0 12, Brazle 0 0-0 0, Steinbrunner 3 6-8 12, Wuebker 0 1-6 1, Long 3 1-3 7. Totals 14 8-17 37.
3-point field goal:
Marion Local 0, Parkway 1 (Decker).
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