Jays fly high at Hangar

MARIA STEIN - Going into a big time road game can be hard for some teams, especially if said game is at Marion Local's Hangar. After a 66-36 win over the Flyers, the Delphos St. John's locker room was heard blasting the song "Take Over Your Trap" by rapper 2 Chainz, as the Blue Jays did just that in a dominant effort to stay on top of the Midwest Athletic Conference.

"I think we wore on (Marion), the way we space the floor and our ability to make shots, to trust our work that goes into the week, it all came to fruition tonight," St. John's coach Aaron Elwer said postgame.

With all eyes on St. John's (13-0) star Cameron Elwer, the Furman commit did not disappoint early. The senior scored the first seven Blue Jay's points of the game, and it led to his team leading 16-6 by the end of the quarter. Three Flyers found the score sheet, as Brennen Hess, Luke Everman and Oliver Huelsman all got a shot to drop.

As the game turned to its second act, Marion showed grit to claw back into the game. Two quick layups from Everman made it just a six-point deficit, but a three from Elwer eventually got the lead back up to 21-12 for the Jays, and forced a Marion timeout. At the time the break occurred, Elwer had tied the Flyers' point total, despite shooting just 1-of-4 in the quarter.

A pair of layups from Kale Ahrens, the team leader in shooting percentage, trimmed the deficit, and Brayden Mescher's layup made it 24-18 with under three minutes left in the half. The teams traded baskets to end the half, but two late free-throws from Elwer pushed the lead back up to double-figures, 30-20, at the half.

The Blue Jays were 11-of-18 from the field in the first half with Cameron and Andrew Elwer combining for 26 of the 30 points. Marion was 10-of-23, and the game was within reach for the Flyers, which just needed a few shots to keep pace. Mescher and Everman had six points each to lead the effort.

However, those shots Marion had to make did not fall in the third. Three turnovers outnumbered just two made baskets from the hosts, while St. John's was able to add 15 points to their total.

"I knew we had to make shots in this game," Marion coach Kurt Goettemoeller said. "We had to stay in the game, we got down 10 early and at the half. Once they get a 12 or 15 point lead they can spread you, but we just couldn't put the ball in the hole."

With the score at 32-22 after a Mescher putback, the Jays went on a 13-2 run to close out the quarter ahead 45-24. The run saw Cameron Elwer add seven points, including the final shot at the horn, while Tyce McClain's and-one grew his points total to seven.

The shots kept falling for the Jays in the fourth quarter, and there seemed to be no way for the Flyers to stop it. A deep three from Cameron Elwer opened the quarter, and the lead grew to 50-26 after a layup from Easton Elwer.

Cameron Elwer made another deep three to make it 53-28, and the response from Everman was true. Everman finished the night with a team-high 11 points. Both teams missed their next attempts, and Elwer cashed in again from near the Flyer logo to make it 56-31 with 3:40 left.

His final act came on the next possession, as the senior showed his ability to separate from the defender and nailed another deep trey to close out his night. Elwer scored 12 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth, and was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep.

"If it was any other player, our effort would have been fine," Goettemoeller said of Cameron Elwer's performance. "He can get by you on the dribble and he can shoot the three, you have to pick him up by the half court."

On the other end, Marion used 12 points from three players, including five points from Issac Moeller in the closing stages. Despite the effort, the Flyers could not stop the Jays and the lead grew to 30 by the final buzzer.

"We are in a grinder of the season," coach Aaron Elwer said postgame. "I looked at coach Clarke, our assistant, on the bench and I said 'When's the fun start?' and he broke the huddle by saying 'The fun starts now', so that was a lot of fun tonight."

St. John's perfect record remains intact with a road game against St. Henry next week. The loss drops Marion (10-1) to third in the MAC. The Flyers will look to rebound after a week off against New Bremen on Jan. 23 at the Nest.

"It doesn't matter how much you lose the game by," Goettemoeller said. "We lost this game last year and went on a 11-game winning streak after that. I have no doubt our kids are going to respond."