ROCKSPRINGS, Ohio — Meigs had 10 players reach the scoring column while matching its win total from a year ago following a 56-43 triumph over visiting Alexander in a Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division boys basketball matchup Friday night at Larry R. Morrison Gymnasium.
The host Marauders (2-2, 1-1 TVC Ohio) stormed out to an early 6-0 advantage, but the Spartans (1-4, 0-2) responded with a 14-5 surge over the final 4:59 of the first quarter to establish a 14-11 edge through eight minutes of play.
MHS answered the second period bell with a 9-3 run out of the gates, which gave the Maroon and Gold a 19-17 lead with 5:56 left in the opening half. Alexander was never closer the rest of the way, as the hosts closed the half out on a 14-4 charge to take a comfortable 33-21 cushion into the intermission.
The Marauders kept momentum going into the second half, as the hosts went on an 11-7 run to claim their biggest lead of the night at 44-28 with 2:46 left in the third stanza. AHS tacked on one free throw at the 1:18 mark to pull within 44-29 headed into the finale.
Despite committing 10 turnovers down the stretch, Meigs’ lead never dwindled down lower than nine points — which came at 52-43 with 50 seconds left in regulation. The Marauders closed the game with a small 4-0 spurt, wrapping up the 13-point outcome.
The Marauders — whose only regular season victory last season came against Alexander (71-68) on January 20 in Rocksprings — shot 61 percent from the field overall and made 7-of-10 free throws in the second half.
For a team just four games into the 2012-13 campaign, MHS coach David Kight is seeing significant signs of improvement. And the proof is in the results.
“Since I took this job this summer, we’ve really stressed the importance of getting five guys to play as one team on the court,” Kight said. “We have some interchangeable pieces and we still don’t have all of our roles defined, but tonight was a good example of how playing as one can lead to positive things.
“We were very unselfish, very determined and really played hard throughout of the course of the contest. I’m really proud of these guys and their effort tonight.”
Meigs connected on 22-of-36 field goal attempts, but only went 1-for-5 from three-point range for 20 percent. The hosts finished the game with 24 turnovers, 32 total rebounds (eight offensive), 11 assists and seven steals.
Dillon Boyer led the Marauders with 16 points, followed by Treay McKinney with 11 points and Dustin Ulbrich with nine markers. Ty Phelps and Jared Williamson each contributed four points, while Matt Casci and Cody Stewart both chipped in three markers apiece.
Alex Morris, Jordan Hutton and Kaileb Sheets each had two points to round out the winning cause. The hosts were 11-of-15 at the free throw line for 73 percent. Sheets, Stewart and Ulbrich each hauled in a team-best six caroms.
Braden Jones paced Alexander with a game-high 23 points, followed by Jordan Moseley with nine points and Seth Richardson with four markers. AHS committed 15 turnovers in the setback and was also 8-of-17 at the charity stripe for 47 percent.
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