The Marshall and Waterloo boys basketball rivalry had some real juice in the 2023-24 regular season. The opening matchup at Waterloo on Thursday, Jan. 18 was a phenomenal basketball game, ending in a narrow 67-66 victory for the visiting Cardinals. It was Marshall's turn to host in the rematch on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
The Cardinals benefitted from a higher energy level, a well-implemented press, more productive shooting to complete the regular season sweep. Despite a game-high 37 points from Waterloo senior Benny Marshall, the Cardinals cruised to an 80-63 victory.
"We got off to a much better start this time," Marshall head coach Dan Denniston said. "Last time, they had us down 22-6 right out of the gate. We played with way more energy and intensity tonight. We got punched in the face last time, and we talked about not letting that happen again. I think the guys did a good job of being ready from the start."
Waterloo started the game off at a disadvantage as it was without star senior Theo Schofield, who scored 12 points and was a valuable rebounder in the first Marshall matchup. Marshall was also down a man as typical starter Daniel Nickel was out with an ankle injury.
The early portion of Tuesday's game was a battle between Benny Marshall and Marshall junior Kenyon Miggins, the two eventual leading scorers for their respective teams. Miggins put up six points and Marshall had eight as the Cardinals started the game off with a slight 13-12 advantage.
With about 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Waterloo called a timeout. Marshall took advantage of the opportunity to implement a full-court press. The rewards of this decision were immediate and plentiful. The Pirates gave up turnover after turnover as the Cardinals launched into a 13-2 run to go ahead 26-14.
Waterloo burned another timeout and was able to regain its composure. Benny Marshall just kept pouring in buckets, finishing the first half with 16 of Waterloo's 31 points. Marshall's offense stalled late, leading to only 36 points at the break. The Pirates were able to narrow the halftime gap to only five points thanks to a late 6-0 run, headlined by some hard work on both ends of the court from senior Cam Tschanz.
The Pirates were also first to score in the second half, courtesy of who else but Benny Marshall, to get the deficit all the way back down to 36-33. This was as close as the Pirates would come. After trading a pair of buckets, Marshall launched into another crucial run to boost its lead from 38-35 to 50-38. Marshall senior Teseo Ruelas hit a pair of three pointers over this stretch to get the Cardinals a more comfortable lead once again.
Waterloo continued to get buckets from Benny Marshall, but the Pirates couldn't stop the Cardinals' offense consistently enough to cut into the deficit. With five minutes to play, Marshall junior Carson Connelly delivered the dagger. He spent much of the game on the bench due to foul trouble, but stepped up in a major way with a trio of three point shots late in the game. This boosted the Marshall lead from 63-51 to an insurmountable 74-56. Both sides allowed their benches to finish out the game as Marshall took the win, 80-63.
The victory stops an agonizing two-game losing streak for Marshall in Capitol - South conference play. In their last two conference games, the Cardinals had lost by one point at New Glarus and by two against Cambridge. They're now 11-10 overall and 3-4 in conference competition.
"We just needed a win," coach Denniston said. "We've had some tight games recently that we've just come out on the wrong side of. There are no easy games in this conference."
Waterloo's loss comes on the heels of a very impressive victory over Cambridge the day prior, Monday, Feb. 12. The Pirates got 19 from Tschanz, 14 from junior Jackson Beyer, and 12 from both Benny Marshall and junior Bryce Aubart in a total team victory. The Pirates now have a 6-15 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the Capitol - South.
Up next, Marshall will close out the week with a trip to Belleville on Friday, Feb. 16. The regular season ends the following week with a pair of home conference games, first against New Glarus on Monday, Feb. 19 then against Wisconsin Heights on Thursday, Feb. 22. Waterloo will look to rebound on Friday, Feb. 16 with a trip to Wisconsin Heights. The Pirates' regular season will end on Thursday, Feb. 22 with a home matchup against New Glarus.
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Capitol - South conference boys basketball standings
(overall records in parenthesis)
-as of Tuesday, Feb. 13
T1. Belleville, 6-1 (10-11)
T1. New Glarus, 6-1 (14-7)
3. Cambridge, 5-3 (10-11)
4. Marshall, 3-4 (11-10)
5. Waterloo, 2-6 (6-16)
6. Wisconsin Heights, 0-7 (8-13)
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