Almaden Resident

Sports

Marino's free throws lead Leland boys to a big basketball win over Longhorns

By Kevin Sparrer

Drew Marino proved that sometimes free throws can make the difference in a basketball game.

Marino led the Leland offense in a 40-33 win over Leigh on Jan. 11 by scoring 12 points, 10 of them coming from the free-throw line. Marino opened the game by shooting four straight free throws on a double technical foul to give the Chargers a four-point advantage and the ball.

"Marino had one of his better games," said Leland head coach Steve Seandel.

The battle was not easily won for Leland, thanks to Alex Ellinwood of Leigh. Ellinwood finished with 14 points, including the only three-pointer of the game. Eight of those 14 points came in the first quarter to keep Leigh tied with the Chargers 11-11 at the end of the first eight minutes.

In the second period, Leland fell behind quickly but made a run late in the quarter by scoring seven unanswered points to take the lead 23-20 at the end of the half.

Both teams struggled a little in the third quarter, with Leigh's Ellinwood scoring the only field goal and Tyler Ni hitting two free throws, which was part of his six total, but unfortunately for the Longhorns, the first points of the quarter didn't come until three minutes in.

Leland was able to score eight points in the third quarter, with Gregg Hipwell hitting one of three field goals, Marino hitting two free throws and both Bentli Bejan and Adam MacKey dropping a field goal each. Leland started very slowly in the quarter, scoring its first points halfway through the period.

Leading 31-24 entering the fourth quarter, Leland was able to score nine and hold Leigh to nine in the last eight minutes. The Chargers scored all of their nine points at the free-throw line.

The other point scorers for the Chargers were Cody Tyson with seven, Hipwell had five, Ryan Hall had four, Bejan and Ryan Selness had three apiece and MacKey, Nolan Capuz and Matt Vera each had two.

"We moved into the Mt. Hamilton Division this year, and all the teams are competitive. Every game for us will be an ultimate challenge. We need to be at our very best," said Seandel.

The win brought Leland to 1-1 in league and 8-6 overall.

Prior to defeating Leigh, Leland fell hard to Oak Grove 44-18. Scoring the 18 points for the Chargers were Mackey with five, Vera four, Hipwell three, Tyson and Selness two each and Marino and Nolan Capuz one apiece.