(Jade Moore is having a great senior year for Snider)

 

In a shootout in Fort Wayne Friday night, Snider hung on to defeat Marion 98-96 thanks to 20 made three-pointers from the Panthers. Snider weathered a 52-point outing from Marion star Jalen Blackmon, who scored 29 of his points in the final 11 minutes of the game.

 

 

It was a fast-paced game from the onset, as both squads came out on fire. It was the Panthers who were torching the nets from deep, as they hit their first seven three-point attempts, including four from senior guard Jade Moore on the way to 15 first-quarter points from the 6'2 Moore. But Marion would respond by matching the home side basket for basket.

 

Aidan Lambert would get in the action from deep, as the junior wing matched perimeter shooting with nifty finishes at the basket on his way to 15 first-half points. Marion would stay close thanks to 23 points from Blackmon entering the locker room, even though Snider hit 14 three-pointers as a team in the opening 16 minutes.

 

The intermission did nothing to quell the flames coming from Snider's shooters, as they started the second half by hitting four of their first six attempts from deep. Jalen Blackmon would try to keep his Giants within striking distance by routinely setting up his teammates for easy buckets at the rim. On the other end, however, the Giants were left without an answer on how to slow down the Snider attack.

 

Late in the third, Blackmon began attacking the rim with determination, getting to the paint at will and finishing through contact on several occasions. The Snider lead peaked at 16 in the third period, but Marion had one more charge in them.

 

A 14 point lead for Snider was whittled down as Blackmon, a Grand Canyon University signee, scored 15 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit nearly in half. It was a seven-point lead for the Panthers, but a Blackmon triple followed by a Snider turnover and Blackmon bucket at the rim cut the lead to a pair.

 

Snider was able to work the clock down and make just enough of their free throws to avoid disaster. Leading by four with 2.4 seconds left, Blackmon was fouled attempting a three-pointer. After making the first two free throws, Blackmon missed the final attempt on purpose, but the rebound went off of fingertips as time expired, giving the hosts the victory.

 

The Panthers finished 20 for 38 from behind the arc, with Jade Moore leading the way with nine three-point makes. Snider finishes the regular season 11-10 and will face Dekalb in the opening round of sectionals next week, while Marion falls to .500 at 11-11 and takes on Lafayette Jeff in the opening round of sectional play at home.

 

 

 

 

Marion  24  28  16  28  -  96

Snider  28  28  26  16  -  98

 

Marion: Jalen Blackmon 52 points (19/31 FGs, 4/11 3Ps, 10/13 FTs), 4 rebs, 7 asts, 2 stls; Matthew Goolsby 14 points (5/8 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 3 rebs; Josh Balfour 13 points (5/8 FGs, 1/2 3Ps, 2/3 FTs), 5 rebs, 2 asts; Jermaine Woods 9 points (3/5 FGs, 1/1 3Ps, 2/4 FTs), 10 rebs; Taden Metzger 3 points (1/3 3Ps); Jake McCarthy 3 points (1/1 3Ps); Sean Flynn 2 points (2/2 FTs)

 

Snider: Jade Moore 33 points (10/17 FGs, 9/13 3Ps, 4/6 FTs), 3 rebs, 2 asts; Karson Jenkins 26 points (10/21 FGs, 4/12 3Ps, 2/3 FTs), 6 asts, 3 stls; Aidan Lambert 19 points (8/10 FGs, 3/4 3Ps), 6 rebs, 7 asts; Tylor Harding 8 points (3/10 FGs, 2/7 3Ps), 2 asts, 2 stls; Grant Brown 6 points (2/2 3Ps), 4 rebs; Keron Billingsley 4 points (2/3 FGs); Ke'drell Billingsley 2 points (1/1 FGs)