Woodburn Independent Online

Defense, free throw shooting lead Huskies past Gladiators

North Marion boys are undefeated after first round of Capital Conference play

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 1/29/2010 10:57:19 PM
• Last Updated: 1/31/2010 10:08:24 PM

Photo By: Garrett RudolphKelly Christensen goes up for a shot during North Marion's win over Gladstone on Friday night at North Marion High School. Christensen scored 11 points to help the Huskies improve to 6-0 in league play and maintain sole possession of first place.

AURORA — Balance has quickly become the name of the game for the North Marion boys basketball team.
 
Each game, it seems a different player is capable of taking the reins and leading the team to a win.
 
The Huskies rode junior Adam Hayden’s fourth-quarter performance to a 49-37 win over Gladstone on Friday night at North Marion High School and maintained sole possession of first place in the Capital Conference.
 
The win improved North Marion to 6-0 in league (11-7 overall).
 
“If you ever come out and watch us play, someone goes off one night and everyone just builds off that one guy,” said senior Kelly Christensen. “We take our roles and play defense, hold teams to under 40 points, and that’s how we beat teams in league. That’s why we’re 6-0 right now.”
 
Hayden scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter, while shooting 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. The Huskies led by just three points at the end of the third quarter, but an 8-0 run to open the fourth allowed North Marion to take control.
North Marion coach Tony Merrill said getting the ball inside to Hayden was part of the team’s game plan all along, and as he began scoring, the team’s defensive intensity followed suit.
 
“We do a lot of good things defensively now,” said Merrill.
 
“We’ve got a good mix of guys that can play down low and guys that can play the perimeter. … When our energy’s good, we’re pretty solid defensively this year.”
Meanwhile, the Gladiators converted just 4 of 15 attempts from the line, further compounding their offensive woes.
 
It was the fourth time in the past five games that the Huskies have held their opponent to 40 points or less, and also the fourth time since the beginning of league play that the Huskies have won by 10 points or more.
 
Christensen said North Marion’s success is a credit to a total team effort, and the Huskies know they need to continue to work hard every day in practice to keep their momentum headed in the right direction.
 
“Coach really pushes us and we know that if we let up now, 6-0 could turn into 6-6 by the end of the season and we could even get snubbed from the playoffs,” said Christensen, who scored 11 points. “So we’re not looking for that at all. … We figure (other teams) are going to get better, so we have to get better too, if we want to keep beating teams by double digits or more.”
 
Christensen and Merrill both said the biggest area the team still needs to improve is in cutting back turnovers.
 
“That’s the one area, out of many that we’ve looked at, where we really haven’t reached where we need to get,” said Merrill. “Most of the other things — rebounding, getting the ball inside on offense, and a lot of our defensive goals — we’re reaching those, but the turnover thing really hurts us.”
 
The Huskies’ scoring was rounded out by nine points from Jordan McCain, five points from Josh Turner, four points from Nathan Summers, and three points by Zach Borowczak.
 
On Tuesday, the Huskies will host Estacada in a 5:30 p.m. game.

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