Rathell Leads Shorthanded Tigers to Victory
Marion, AL. – With three players out of the rotation, sophomore Joshua Rathell stepped up his game to lead all scorers with 31 points and helping the Tigers improve their record to 5-0.
Sophomore Josue Passius scored Marion's first points to tie the game early 2-2. A steal by Rathell led to an Andrew Reddick layup. Rathell followed with his first three-pointer to give MMI a 7-2 lead. Coastal Alabama-East cut the lead to one, the closest they would get in the game.
The Tigers extended their lead to double digits, 26-16, with under three minutes left in the first half when freshman Stacy Burse put back an offensive rebound. The Warhawks from Coastal-East would go on a small run and with a layup before the first half buzzer sounded, cut the lead to 32-27 at the break.
Three minutes into the second half the Warhawks cut the lead to four, 36-32, before the Tigers put together a mini-run and extended it back to double digits. Joshua Rathell got a steal and found Willie Dunbar III for a layup to make it 40-32. Rathell went to the charity stripe after a technical foul was called on a Coastal-East player. The two free throws extended the Tiger's lead to 42-32. Rathell earned another four points from the free throw line when a technical foul was called on the Warhawks' coach after a foul was called on one of his players. The lead grew to 46-32.
Coastal Alabama would not go away quietly and cut the lead back to four with under 12 minutes to play in regulation. From then on the game became a free throw shooting contest with 68 total free throws shot between the teams. With 3:20 on the clock a three-pointer by Coastal-East cut the lead to two, 60-58. Reddick found Mark Bradwell for a layup on back-to-back possessions to give the Tigers some breathing room. Reddick connected on both of his free throws with 15.8 seconds on the clock, giving Marion a 69-62 lead. A coastal layup cut it back to five but Quavon Blackwood hit two free throws with 8.4 seconds remaining to give the home squad a 71-64 lead. Reddick secured the final rebound with MMI winning by seven.
Mark Bradwell finished with 10 points. Reddick followed with nine (9) points. Willie Dunbar III dished in seven points, followed by Quavon Blackwood (6), Josue Passius (4), Stacy Burse (2), and Monte Wilkerson (2).
Marion will host North American University Sunday, November 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the William R. Ireland Athletic Center.