Mt. Pleasant’s run ends in Center Point

CENTER POINT — Friday night’s Class 3A Substate 5 semifinal contest between the Mt. Pleasant Panthers and Marion Wolves was everything you could want in a high school basketball game.

By the end of it, one’s quest for a state tournament appearance would continue and for the other gone with the wind.

At the end of the 32 minute fixture, it was Marion with that goal still in reach. The Wolves stunted the Panthers, 60-44.

For two quarters of play it was anyone’s ballgame, but Marion turned it on in the second half, and the Wolves were able to put the Panthers away.

The nerves were high for both teams in the first quarter as it took over two minutes for the first bucket to be scored, a Marion two. Then it was on.

Mt. Pleasant was scorching hot for the next three minutes on the offensive end, rattling off an 11-4 run to make it a 11-6 ballgame. Nine of the 11 came from the hands of Mt. Pleasant forward Dewon Trent.

For Marion, the deficit was short-lived as the Wolves found their rhythm, ending the quarter with a run of their own, 10-3. Marion would never trail again.

In the second, it was neck and neck. Mt. Pleasant found itself down just two, 25-23, and with a chance to tie it at the line with a one in one.

The free throw was off the mark and Marion’s Brayson Laube knew exactly what to do. Laube got the ball under the rim with one tick on the clock and drew contact, earning a pair at the stripe. He didn’t disappoint, connecting on both and giving the Wolves a 27-23 advantage at the break. It’s the closest the Panthers would come.

Laube was a thorn for the Panthers in the first half, dropping in 13 of his eventual game-high 20.

“He got loose on us in the first half and real aggressive in man,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson said of Laube. “I thought our two-three zone looked well and limited the rest of Marion’s players.”

Marion found its stride in the second half, particularly in the third quarter. The Wolves held the Panthers to just nine points, while pouring in 19 of their own, accumulating a 46-32 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

“The third quarter has been our nemesis all season long,” Rawson said. “Your defense leads to your offense and we struggled to get stops. It seemed like we were really stale in the second half.”

For the Panthers, they would have to play some of their best basketball to get back into it, but the Wolves didn’t let off the gas.

“We made some minor adjustments,” Marion head coach Pete Messerli said. “It was about getting comfortable with Mt. Pleasant’s defense. They were doing some things that we really haven’t seen throughout our conference play.”

Marion capped off the game with a 14-12 fourth quarter to punch its ticket to the Substate 5 final.

Dewon Trent finished his high school career with a team-high 14 points. Aaiden Ashton, Owen Vansickel, and Payton Hagans each ended with seven. Carter Amos finished with five and Nate Stroud added four.

The Panthers end their season at 9-14, while Marion (18-5) moves on to play Clear Creek-Amana (16-7) for a chance at the state tournament.

Despite the loss, Rawson said he’s looking forward to continue building up the Panther basketball program.

“We’re gonna stay on the guys,” he said. “They understand the hard work and dedication you got to put in. I think our guys recognize the level of competition that we played this year and where we need to be and want to be.”