Boys Basketball

Marcellus 72, Sherburne-Earlville 45

SHERBURNE – Marcellus ended the first half on a 9-0 run, and made its first three shots of the second half – two of those three-pointers – to streak away from Sherburne-Earlville in Wednesday night’s Section III playoff game.

“I think the end of the first half was the turning point of the game,” said S-E coach Kevin Vibbard. “I felt we were staying with them at that point, but instead of being down seven, we were down 16 points at halftime.”

Marcellus established the early advantage with six layups on its first six baskets. Four of those hoops came on putbacks after offensive rebounds. Later in the half, the Mustangs found their outside shooting stroke.

After Ethan Johnson’s three put the Marauders within 26-19 with 4:02 to play in the second, Marcellus guard Nick Sinay answered with a three of his own just 10 seconds later. Steve Raven added two layups, and Geoff Crysler stuck a foul line jumper for the 35-19 lead.

Crysler and Sinay had back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half lifting the Mustangs to a 43-21 lead, and prompting Vibbard to call a timeout.

“We knew this game would be a battle for us, and we didn’t match their aggressiveness tonight,” Vibbard said. “They were going after the offensive boards, and we turned it over way too much.”

S-E (11-8) finished with 23 turnovers in the contest.