Undefeated Marshall entered Tuesday’s Section 2AAA nonconference showdown against Mankato West averaging an impressive 88-point per game scoring average.
However, the Scarlets’ swarming defense and all-around steady play fueled a 72-51 victory at the West gym. Kyle Steinke, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, poured through 27 points and pulled down 15 rebounds as the Scarlets improved to 4-1 on the season. Junior guard El Staley added 15 points —12 in the second half — to help West overcome an injury to senior guard Landon Dimler.
“We missed Dimler, especially on the rebounding, but we were able to slow the game down,” Steinke said. “We have a lot of guys who can guard on the ball and then we help with a lot of talking. Honestly, I don’t think I played that well, but I was able to get to the free-throw line and make my free throws.
“We’re very deep this year and have a lot of guys who can play. It’s going to be fun to see how the season goes. We feature a little bit of everything with good guards and posts, which allows us to score from all three levels.”
Marshall (3-1) used a pair of first-half runs to keep things close as Steinke’s two free throws with 0.2 seconds left gave the Scarlets a 29-28 advantage. Steinke put through 14 points in the half while the Tigers’ received 12 points from junior guard Alexander Franson. Junior guard Talay Sartell hit a 3-pointer and driving hoop for West in the half while senior wing Mason DuRose and Staley each chipped in a 3-pointer.
Staley buried a triple to begin the second half before Steinke’s 8-foot turnaround and driving basket off a turnover put the Scarlets in front for good. Staley then converted a pair of slicing drives to the cup before his right-side transition 3-pointer made it 43-37 with 11:42 remaining. After the Tigers closed to within 50-45, a pair of putbacks by 6-8 senior post Kaylor Chamberlain, along with Steinke’s 3-pointer, expanded the margin to 61-48.
“We had good help defense on (Franson) and talked more in the second half,” Staley said. “Our defense is solid and we’re able to execute offensively by running our plays. We like to support Kyle and we were able to get a lot of touches in the paint as well. I like our mentality coming into the season. We didn’t lose many seniors so we’re showing we can be a really good team this year.”
Senior Emmett Olson’s three-point play keyed a last burst as the Scarlets stretched things out. Sartell and DuRose finished with seven points apiece while Chamberlain netted six points and six rebounds. West, which won the glass 38-26 and committed fewer turnovers 17-15, connected on 27 of 58 from the field for 46.5% compared to the Tigers’ 20 of 51 for 39.2%. Wilson Magers and DuRose totaled six rebounds each.
“Overall, the guys did a pretty good job,” West coach Jeremy Drexler said. “There are always things you can clean up and we still need to communicate better. You have to be able to communicate in the tough moments of a game because it’s easy to communicate in practice.
“We had some guys turn their hips a little bit to give up some sure-line drives, but overall I felt we defended pretty well. Both of our juniors who started tonight had really nice games. Kyle had to work for it because they were doubling him on the blocks all night long and then El settled in as well. We also got some nice contributions off the bench on the offensive end. … We weren’t moving the ball much in the first half, but then we did a better job of spacing and cutting in the second half.”
West plays Friday at Rochester Mayo.