Dukes heating up as winter settles in

With snow and freezing weather blanketing northeastern Ohio, the Dukes picked the right time to catch fire. After beginning the season with a win over Tuslaw, Marlington proceeded to drop its next four games. Following a topsy-turvy 45-36 win over Eastern Buckeye Conference rival Salem, however, the Dukes have won three consecutive games to move to .500 on the season.

Marlington first had to take care of business Dec. 15 at Youngstown Boardman, and the Dukes did just that, squeezing by the Spartans 54-50. Marlington led early, but a 12-5 run to close the first quarter enabled Boardman to take a 14-9 lead into the second. The Dukes bent but didn’t break, responding with a 14-4 flurry to head into the break with a 28-19 advantage.

Marlington led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but the Spartans changed things up defensively, and their full-court press gave the Dukes problems as Boardman closed to within 41-37 entering the final period. Marlington managed the press down the stretch, taking a 54-44 lead into the final minutes. The Spartans (1-5) hit two 3-pointers, but that was it as the Dukes left Youngstown with the win.

Two days later, Marlington entertained the Quakers, and the game looked poised to be a defensive struggle as Salem entered having allowed just 26.5 points per game this season. The Quakers roared out of the gate, taking a 15-6 lead into the second quarter. Marlington weathered the onslaught and trimmed the deficit to five points by the end of the third quarter, trailing 32-27. The Dukes were just getting warmed up, exploding for 18 points over the final eight minutes while limiting the Quakers (5-2, 2-2) to just four.

Bailee Pietz scored 15 points to lead Marlington (4-4, 2-2), while Shelby Odey added 13 and Marissa Walter finished with 10.

Bowling

The Dukes spent the week before Christmas on the road against two EBC foes, Alliance and Minerva, with mixed results as Marlington surged past the Aviators but fell to the Lions.

First up was a Dec. 15 match at the Alliance Elks, where the Dukes won 2,089-1,839 and the Lady Dukes rolled to a 1,516-1,197 victory. Lizzie Blasiman posted the high series for the girls with a 327, while Laney Cross rolled the high game with a 180 as Marlington took a commanding 361-pin lead into the Baker games. On the boys’ side, Colton Lane was on fire, rolling games of 242 and 184 for a 426 series. Cason Gowen added a 352 series (196-156) as the Dukes carried a 186-pin lead into the Baker format.

Two days later, Marlington visited Minerva Bowl to face the Lions, and both squads came up short as the boys lost 2,283-2,072 and the girls fell 1,808-1,418. Owen Wright was the model of consistency, rolling games of 209 and 213 for a 422 series, while Lane added a 360 (188-172). It was not enough to counter Minerva’s Austin Ailing and Owen Frazier, who posted series of 508 and 438, respectively.

The Dukes split the two Baker games with the Lions, outscoring them by 25 pins, but it was not enough to overcome the 237-pin deficit. Blasiman rolled games of 133 and 176 for a 309 series, while Brianna Westberry and Mia Vigliotti added series of 290 and 263, respectively. The Lady Lions, paced by Bailey Woods’ 362 series, took a 314-pin lead into the Baker games.