Owls claim OT win at Fulton

FULTON -- Two frustrating losses earlier in the week may have had a positive effect on the Marshall boys' basketball team.

The Owls dug themselves out from a seven-point hole during the final two minutes Friday for a 53-49 overtime victory at NCMC rival Fulton. Marshall head coach Scott Harrold considered it "a typical game for us."

"We didn't shoot the ball well, but we hung around and pulled it out," he said. "We blew one on Tuesday [at Mexico] and I didn't let them forget it."

The Owls survived 20 turnovers, but played defense tenaciously -- limiting the Hornets to 32.6-percent field-goal shooting and controlling the boards by a 32-22 margin, thanks in large part to eight rebounds by hustling 6-foot-1 junior Randy Ritter.

No team led by more than five points during the first half, Marshall enjoying that margin when Ritter finished a fast break and then hit the offensive glass for a deuce midway through second quarter. However, a pair of three-pointers by junior Ryan Jacobs let Fulton pull even by halftime.

The second half was one of streaks, with the Hornets pulling ahead and the Birds battling back. The Owls, scoreless through the first three minutes, went on a 12-2 tear -- senior Stewart Workcuff and junior Lee Standley combining for 10 points off the bench -- to take a 33-30 lead into the fourth frame.

"So many of our guys are interchangeable, we can play them in a lot of different positions and stay consistent," Harrold noted. "We're going to ride the guys who are hot."

When the starters returned to open the fourth period, Marshall gave the ball up without a shot on four straight series and the Hornets reeled off 10 points -- sophomore Gabe Jones draining a three and making two free throws. When Jacobs sank his fourth charity shot in a row with two 2:15 remaining, Fulton held a 42-35 advantage.

"We didn't take care of the basketball," Harrold repeated a familiar refrain about the Owls' sometimes shaky ball handling. "There didn't seem to be any flow at all."

Marshall eventually was able to get the ball in to sophomore Devin Moon, who made a lay-up and conventional three-point play. Senior Tony Dunavent hit two freebies with 1:34 to go, but senior Jason Fann answered from the elbow.

Ritter's offensive rebound produced two free throws for Moon to tie the contest with 45 seconds left and his defensive pressure produced a turnover. The Owls had two cracks at the bucket in the closing seconds, but Yokeley couldn't finish a drive and Fann missed a stick-back.

Still, Marshall had momentum in its favor -- and maybe a little more against a squad which had only one win to its credit and hadn't gotten as many minutes from its reserves.

"[The Hornets] were trying to hang on to their lead ... but it was difficult for them to finish," Harrold said. "Sometimes you get that feeling, 'Here we go again.' It's both a mental and physical thing."

Jones hit a pair of buckets early in the extra period, but nothing more from the field. Two Ritter freebies and a bomb by junior Myles Yokeley put the Owls in front. Although Marshall missed six of 10 from the stripe during the final minute, Ritter and Fann came up with steals and Yokeley got an offensive board to limit the home team's possessions.

Jones had 18 points and Jacobs 15 for Fulton (1-5, 0-1 NCMC). Moon's 11 points led the Owls (4-2, 2-1), who head to ninth-ranked Rock Bridge today.