The Marathon boys basketball team enters this season with a young nucleus after graduating four impact seniors from last season. It showed early on Wednesday, as the Olympians fell into a early hole they couldn’t dig out of in a 67-49 loss to Candor at Marathon High School.
The first points of the night came on a pair of technical free throws because Marathon hung on the rim in warmups. The Coyotes took that and raced out to a 21-4 first quarter, holding Marathon scoreless until the 3:36 mark. Marathon head coach Jim Holland felt the loss of his seniors in the opening quarter.
“I can tell you exactly what wasn’t working, my four seniors are gone from last year,” Holland said. “We’re not a senior laden team, we’re young. We just got nervous and went away from what we’re supposed to run and went a little one-on-one too much.”
Jakobe Foster scored 14 of his game-high 37 points in the explosive first quarter for Candor, as Marathon could not find an answer once he got into a rhythm.
“He doesn’t normally hammer on my guys that bad,” Holland said. “He came out and got the technical foul shots to start the game. I think that was a shell shock for us. Then next thing he hits a step-back three, and so he’s feeling good then.”
Marathon eventually settled into the game and played Candor nearly even the rest of the way, but the first quarter left them too far behind to mount a comeback. Marathon inched within 10 on two separate occasions in the third quarter and got as close as nine points, but couldn’t string together enough stops to make it a game.
“I said, ‘We have to play as a unit,’” Holland said. “And of course we make the runs, we get it cut to 10 or 11 and then we make a bonehead defensive play.”
Camdyn Kashuba helped lead the charge for Marathon in the second half. He knocked down four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 15 points, with 14 coming in the second half. Kashuba helped claw the Olympians back in the third after a 9-0 Candor run. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers and added a layup to fuel a 10-0 finish to the third quarter.
“He can flat out shoot,” Holland said. “ The problem is we have to learn to be able to get him the ball in a little better spots and he’s got to learn to get himself in position when he’s not shooting well to get easier shots. That’ll be big.”
Foster and Donald Mackie ultimately helped put the game back out of reach. They combined for all 21 of the Coyotes’ points in the final quarter, with Mackie scoring 12 of his 24.
Blake Birdsall also finished in double figures for Marathon with 12 points. Colton Oram and Austin Poth each scored eight points. Barrett Trabucco (4) and Daniel Merihew (2) also chipped in for the Olympians’ scoring efforts.
Holland was happy with the potential of what he saw from his team if they can clean up their defensive mistakes moving forward.
“We held these guys basically into the 60s and with bonehead defense,” Holland said. “ So I think our defense, if we can hold teams in the 50s, we’re going to be able to score 50-60 points and be in games. We should be okay, we’ve got a long way to go.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
OTSELIC VALLEY 40, CINCINNATUS 10
Larissa Standish scored a team-high six points and grabbed a rebound for Cincinnatus, but the Lions were down 27-2 at halftime as they fell to 0-2.
Lydia Scutt added two points and five rebounds, Londynn Widrick contributed two points and four rebounds, Natalie Fritts grabbed a rebound and Kim Hill recorded a steal.
BOYS WRESTLING
ODESSA-MONTOUR 72, DRYDEN 6
Oscar Brotherton (145 pounds) recorded Dryden’s only win with a pin in 3:10. Aedan Lange (124 pounds), William Woodard (131 pounds), Benjamin Rick (152 pounds), Travis Chamberlain (160 pounds) and Lucas Vanslyke (285 pounds) all lost by pin for the Lions. Dryden had to forfeit at 101, 108, 116, 138, 170, 190 and 215.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
FOOTBALL
Frankfort-Schuyler at Moravia, 3 p.m. Saturday
BOYS BASKETBALL
Cortland at Oswego, 6:45 p.m. today
Port Byron at Tully, 7 p.m. today
Whitney Point at Marathon, 7:15 p.m. Friday
Stockbridge Valley at DeRuyter, 7 p.m. Friday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Maine-Endwell at Groton, 6:30 p.m. today
Tully at Homer, 7 p.m. Friday
McGraw at Brookfield, 6 p.m. Friday
Dryden at Groton, 6:30 p.m. Friday
Cincinnatus at Stockbridge Valley, 6 p.m. Friday
Moravia vs. Elmira, 6 p.m. Friday at Owego Free Academy
HOCKEY
CNY Fusion at Cortland/Homer, 7 p.m. today
Cortland/Homer at Baldwinsville, 7 p.m. Friday at Three Rivers Athletic Complex
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
McGraw at Stockbridge Valley, 7 p.m. today
DeRuyter at Cincinnatus, 7 p.m. today
Sherburne-Earlville at McGraw, 7 p.m. Friday
Tully at Clinton, 7 p.m. Friday
BOYS WRESTLING
Whitney Point at Homer, 6:30 p.m. today
Dryden at Newark Valley, 4:30 p.m. Friday
GIRLS WRESTLING
Whitney Point, Bainbridge-Guilford at Homer, 5 p.m. today
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Cortland, Homer, Groton, Dryden at SUNY Cortland, 7 p.m. Friday
BOWLING
Cortland at Weedsport, 3:30 p.m. today at Rainbow Lanes
CBA at Homer, 3:30 p.m. roday at Hi-Lanes
Odessa-Montour at Groton, 4 p.m. today at Memory Lanes
