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Thoughts?

Should be a great game! Don't know much about New Lex, but they have one of the more impressive wins by a SE district team this season (Tri-Valley). Plus they have 20 wins. If Marietta brings the same defensive effort from the first two tournament games, they have a good chance to advance imo.

pioneer19 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2024 12:49 pm Should be a great game! Don't know much about New Lex, but they have one of the more impressive wins by a SE district team this season (Tri-Valley). Plus they have 20 wins. If Marietta brings the same defensive effort from the first two tournament games, they have a good chance to advance imo.

I’ll go even further. If Marietta plays with the same defensive intensity and establishes the most effective game plan (assuming no sickness, injuries, etc) they should win comfortably. Lots of “ifs” but I thought Fairfield Union might have been a more challenging opponent than New Lex.

I like the matchup here for Marietta, they will have a significant size advantage. Their junior pg Isaiah Stephens is tough though, has started since he was a freshman.

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Whs95fan wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2024 2:25 pm I like the matchup here for Marietta, they will have a significant size advantage. Their junior pg Isaiah Stephens is tough though, has started since he was a freshman.

I'm not sure that New Lex has a player on the team that is NOT a threat from behind the arc LOL ... Braglin, Ratliff, Stephens x 2 as younger, bigger bro also steps out for the 3 ball,Hanson, Stenson ... Braglin as the lone senior - good mix of freshmen/sophs/jrs - this team will be good the foreseeable future as well ... saw New Lex live vs Logan in Logan - they get after you defensively for sure and can hit the 3 ball from anywhere ... Isaiah Stevens - the elder ... hit 6 treys/30 points .. Hanson had 15pts but no one else had more than 5 pts ... Logan hurt them inside with their big (Owen Bell 6-3) - Bell had 21 points in the paint vs NL ...I watched NL lose to Coshocton Rd 2 - Coshocton beat them fairly handily (Coshocton is very good & NL beat them AT NL in Rd 1) ... I feel the Tiger D IF they respect the NL perimeter shooters and close out/ force them to move vs spotting up (Stephens will shoot it from the midcourt line LOL and make it LOL) can win this one ... Ratliff is deadly as well and just a freshman ... lots favors the Tigers in this matchup ... it will fun to watch that's for sure!

Marietta is the easy pick but this NL team will come to play. They claimed their first league title in 66 years!

New Lex no chance really

This will be a good one. NL has been really good these last couple years. Having said that, Marietta is the favorite.

I’m going with Marietta in this one. It’s difficult for me to imagine that New Lexington matches up well with Marietta. The Tigers are just so athletic with ZWittekind, Kelley, and Knighten. Then you gotta deal with the front runner to win the D2 SE District POY, Alex Kendall. If you get Kendall at his best then Marietta is hard to beat. I’ll take Marietta by 14 points.

I’m thinking that Marietta’s size and length will be a major factor in the game. Should be a good one

New Lex can win this, although not the favorite. Marietta is all of these things: No. 1 seed in the Southeast; Tied for the best D-II won-loss record in the state; One of the top-rated scoring defenses in the state; Tied 9th in the final AP basketball poll; District 13 Player of the Year and Coach of the Year; and an ability in "most games" to effectively limit the other team's best scorers to win.

Despite all of that New Lex is 20-4, well-coached, and is also one of the better defensive teams in the region. They have two big-time scorers who can score deep or at the basket.

A Vegas line might be Tigers by 9, but impossible-to-predict factors could get the Panthers into the D-II District title game.

The NL front court is one of the best in the league and area. Both Stephens and Hanson have started since their 9th grade and rarely come off the floor. Both are dynamic and can score from anywhere. Add in the shooting ability of the surrounding crew makes them a dangerous out. Their weaknesses are inside and depth. NL is not big inside and has trouble winning the rebounding battle. As I said, Hanson and Stephens rarely come off the floor, as does the freshman Ratliff. Foul trouble could get this team in trouble, but knowing this they are smart and rarely get into foul trouble. Another benefit NL has is having been there last year. 3 returning starters played on this stage a year ago.
Should be a great battle, but saying NL has no chance is absurd.

Marietta is the favorite, however I don’t believe it is by much. NL has a win over Tri-Valley who is a similar matchup but better version of Marietta. NL will struggle to defend Kendall, but doesn’t everybody? I expect Coach Duerr to have a great team defensive plan to limit him. NL will slow the game down, limit possessions, and spread the floor and make Marietta defend Stephens and Hanson in space.

MVLfan wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 11:02 am The NL front court is one of the best in the league and area. Both Stephens and Hanson have started since their 9th grade and rarely come off the floor. Both are dynamic and can score from anywhere. Add in the shooting ability of the surrounding crew makes them a dangerous out. Their weaknesses are inside and depth. NL is not big inside and has trouble winning the rebounding battle. As I said, Hanson and Stephens rarely come off the floor, as does the freshman Ratliff. Foul trouble could get this team in trouble, but knowing this they are smart and rarely get into foul trouble. Another benefit NL has is having been there last year. 3 returning starters played on this stage a year ago.
Should be a great battle, but saying NL has no chance is absurd.

I assume you meant to say NL’s “back court” is one of the best in the area, to which I would agree. I’m interested in how fans would compare New Lex and Fairfield Union — comparable strengths, weaknesses, who’s better?

Looks like two common opponents:
Both beat Logan
Both lost to John Glenn

Down goes Frazier!! New Lex takes down the 1 seed Marietta. Will face the winner of Warren / Logan Elm.
NL 43 - MHS 40

New Lex had the better strategy coming in and Marietta was not able to adjust. New Lex did a good job defending the post despite the size disadvantage and slowed down the pace and made Marietta really work on the defensive end.

A good win for the MVL. New Lex is a gutty team that know how they have to play given their
lack of size. A red hot Warren team will be another tall order.

Sportsfan01 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2024 9:21 pm New Lex had the better strategy coming in and Marietta was not able to adjust. New Lex did a good job defending the post despite the size disadvantage and slowed down the pace and made Marietta really work on the defensive end.

New Lex is a very strong defensive team with two scoring options. Some games Marietta is a strong defensive team and tonight only one player who could score. I don’t think strategy had anything to do with the verdict — both executed for the most part what they wanted to do but usually the Tigers will get Wittekind or Lieras-Kelley or even Jones to put up a few more points but that didn’t happen. Not a good night for Marietta to play subpar.