For the second time in less than a week, the Marshals claimed their second Christmas tournament championship after defeating Sayre (Lexington) 54-44 to win the FNB Bank Holiday Classic at Marshall County High School.
They improve to 13-0 which is the best start spanning at least over four decades. The Marshals also ended Sayre’s seven game win streak.
The road to the championship game began with a 66-39 win over Tipton-Rosemark from Millington, Tenn. and a thrilling 84-75 semifinal win over Louisville Ballard.
Following the win over Sayre, Head Coach Sawyer Donohoo in post-game comments to WCBL’s Jeff Waters said, “They had a defense that was kind of hard to figure out. Sometimes it looked like they were man, sometimes it looked like they were zone. Throughout the game they figured it out and were able to move the ball and ultimately made shots.”
That defensive set by Sayre caused several Marshall County turnovers in the early going of the game. After a 3-0 start on a three-pointer by Matthew Langhi, Sayre forced three straight Marshall County turnovers which led to a 6-0 run and 10-3 lead. The Marshals finished out the first quarter with an 8-0 run to take an 11-10 lead.
The Spartans took a 15-11 lead to start the second quarter on baskets by Brock Coffman. A Kyzer Phillips three, Tommy Robertson to Alex Staples bucket, basket by Matthew Langhi, Phillips lay in and Staples field goal all contributed to an 11-0 run and 22-15 lead. Coffman scored for Sayre to end the run and the Marshals finished the half on a 22-17 lead.
An entertaining third quarter for the great afternoon crowd at Reed Conder Gymnasium came in part on five threes by the Marshals. The first by Langhi for a 27-21 lead and Phillips hit his first of three in the quarter to put the Marshals up 30-23.
Phillips sank his next two threes consecutively which pushed the lead to 38-31 and brought the Marshall County fans to their feet. The fifth three of the quarter from Robertson put the Marshals up by six heading into the fourth quarter.
The Marshals opened the final frame with a 7-0 run to go up by 13 points but the Spartans were hard to shake. A three from Jaxson Howard and dunk by Coffman trimmed the Marshals lead to 48-42 with 1:43 remaining.
Forced to foul in the closing minute, Sayre sent the Marshals to the line where they converted 6-of-8 to earn the 54-44 win and tournament title.
Phillips and Langhi led the Marshals scoring with 16 each, Staples had 11 and Robertson 10 points. Nine threes came from Phillips with four, two by Robertson and one each by Langhi and Staples. The Marshals were 13-of-16 at the free throw line.
Up next is a trip to Otis Dining Gymnasium on Friday to play Paducah Tilghman.
Marshall County 11 22 41 54
Sayre 10 17 35 44
Marshall County (13-0): Kyzer Phillips 16, Matthew Langhi 16, Alex Staples 11, Tommy Robertson 10, Ryan Stokes 1
Sayre (7-3): Jaxson Howard 15, Brock Coffman 14, Chase Parker 6, Sayvion Staley 5, Luke Pennington 4
Marshals vs. Sayre, FNB Bank Holiday Classic Championship
