Statesmen Match Win Total From Last Season, Beat Falls Church 63-54

Less than two weeks into the season, the Statesmen have already tied their win total from a year ago.

Towner Hale and Grant Liebow each scored 12 points to lead a balanced attack against Falls Church High in their 63-54 win over the Jaguars Friday night. It's Marshall's best start since opening 4-0 in 2007. No one on this year's roster was there for a 12-10 campaign in 2009, so the 3-20 mark from a season ago was all many players had to remember. Getting off on the right foot should build some momentum, but perhaps more importantly is evidence of the effort the team put in over the last 10 months.

"It means a lot," head coach Dan Hale said. "These guys, I can't tell you how hard they've worked after last season. I couldn't be prouder for them."

With a pair of stray Liberty District games next week before winter break and holiday tournaments, the test against the Jaguars might have come at just the right time. The National District school plays a quick tempo, guard oriented style that is representative of many of Marshall's district opponents.

Friday, the Statesmen were able apply heavy pressure to the smaller Jaguars, though they may need a bit of refinement as the season progresses. The Statesmen racked up fouls early and often, and lost starting F/C and second-leading scorer Tarek Othman late in the third quarter when he fouled out. Hale sees his team as small, but few Liberty District foes feature more than two starters taller than 6 feet 2 inches.

"We might do that from time to time, but we're not the biggest team, so we've really got to put pressure in any way we can," Hale said of the full court press and occasional triple teams Marshall used. "I thought we did an excellent job against a very fast Falls Church team."

Both teams started off slow offensively, but it was the Statesmen who found their rhythm first. After managing just a 10-6 lead after one quarter, Connor Barrand and Liebow each hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half to extend the advantage to 28-18 heading into the break.

Falls Church opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit in half, but never came any closer than that and trailed by double digits until the final minute of the game. Barrand finished with 11 points and Latrell Watkins and Douglas Turpin added eight apiece.

"They're really playing together," Hale said. "They know each other. They know where they are and they share the ball. They're just as happy to score the point or give the assist or get the rebound. It was a great team win. It was a good battle, and good things happen when guys work hard."

FREE THROWS

The Statesmen host Fairfax on Tuesday at 7:30. The Rebels have struggled to an 0-3 start, but beat Marshall twice last year by a combined 29 points.