Bulldogs put up fight in state quarterfinal loss to Pella Christian
Hunter Meyer, MFL MarMac's only senior, hoists the state participant trophy following the team's quarterfinal loss Monday night. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Sophomore Zach Driscoll led all scorers with 22 points, and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and three steals, in MFL MarMac’s Class 2A state quarterfinal loss to Pella Christian on March 6.
Carver Blietz-Bentien, with Bulldog head coach Eric Dettbarn looking on in the background, puts up a shot against the Eagles. He scored 15 points.
Parker Kuehl edges past a Pella Christian defender in Monday’s game, which was MFL MarMac’s first state appearance since 2013.
Wyatt Powell tries to poke the ball away from an Eagle player in the March 6 game. The Bulldogs came away with eight steals.
Senior Hunter Meyer's defensive presence will be missed, according to junior Carver Blietz-Bentien. "He may not have put up the points, but he definitely locked down on defense and really pushed around those big guys,” Blietz-Bentien said.
Brock Hackett defends a Pella Christian player in Monday's state quarterfinal game in Des Moines.
Sophomore Parker Kuehl finished the game with eight points.
Zach Driscoll said simply making it to state was a great experience. He vowed MFL MarMac will be back.
Junior Wyatt Powell puts up a shot in the March 6 state quarterfinal game against Pella Christian. Powell will be one of four Bulldog starters who will return next season.
Junior Carver Blietz-Bentien takes the ball up the court against the Eagles. "I know we’re going to put work in in the offseason and come back bigger and faster and stronger. We’re going to be back," he said after the game.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Pella Christian defeated MFL MarMac 61-54 in Monday night’s Class 2A quarterfinal game at the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament.
“We fought as hard as we could, and that’s all we can ask for,” said sophomore Zach Driscoll after the game, which was the Bulldogs’ first appearance in Des Moines since 2013.
MFL MarMac came into the match-up seeded fifth and Pella Christian fourth. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field in the first quarter and raced out to an 11-3 start, but the Eagles closed the gap to 19-14 at the end of the period.
A Bulldog scoring drought early in the second helped Pella Christian take a 20-19 lead. It was an advantage the Eagles pushed to 38-31 by halftime, thanks to five points in the final 30 seconds.
MFL MarMac trailed just 49-44 after the third quarter, and came within two points, at 49-47, early in the fourth, but couldn’t get over the hump. Pella Christian led by as many as nine points with under four minutes to play and held off the Bulldogs to win by seven.
“Early, we were able to get them out of their game a little bit. We got a few turnovers and were able to get out and get some easy buckets,” said MFL MarMac head coach Eric Dettbarn. “The longer the game went on, we got into a little foul trouble here and there. We couldn’t be as aggressive as we wanted to be defensively.”
“I think we got in our own heads a little bit and struggled to come out of the hole we dug ourselves,” acknowledged junior Carver Blietz-Bentien.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Eagles 36-34 and had three fewer turnovers, with eight versus 11.
“But the second half, we gave up way too many second chance opportunities. That hurt us,” Dettbarn said.
The game ultimately came down to shooting. Pella Christian shot 45.8 percent overall while MFL MarMac came in at 36.7.
“We struggled a little bit from the field, and a lot of times that happens when you come down here,” said Dettbarn.
“Shots just weren’t falling for us, and they were hitting shots,” Driscoll added. “And then we just couldn’t seem to find that one stop we needed.”
While MFL MarMac has faced larger, physical teams before, Pella Christian was more challenging to defend, according to Blietz-Bentien.
“They were quicker than the bigger teams we’ve played against this year, which was tough. I think it was the quickness of their big guys and their ability to shoot with their size too that was a rude awakening to us,” he said. “Otherwise, we were still able to rebound and hang with ‘em like we always do. We’re always active, and it’s hard for teams to get a body on all of us, and we’re smart with the ball. And we can jump—we’re athletes. That helps us out when it comes to rebounding.”
Driscoll led all scorers with 22 points, and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. Blietz-Bentien dropped in 15 points and snagged seven rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Parker Kuehl finished with eight points while senior Hunter Meyer and sophomore Landyn Miene contributed four apiece.
Simply playing in the state tournament was a great experience, said Driscoll.
It wasn’t just the players’ efforts this year, but throughout their playing careers, that led to this success, added Blietz-Bentien.
“There’s a lot of hard work put into it. It all started when we were probably in third grade. Then travel ball and AAU ball,” he noted.
The team’s 24 wins tied the school record set in 2012.
“Getting down here definitely was a big goal, and the kids are disappointed now, rightfully so,” Dettbarn shared. “I said, ‘Once the sting goes away, hopefully you can look back on the season with a big smile on your face, because you guys did a lot of good things this year.’ I thanked them in the locker room for the year, for the ride they took us on.”
There’s also a lot to build on for next year.
“We lose one senior, Hunter Meyer, who is a huge role to this team. He may not have put up the points, but he definitely locked down on defense and really pushed around those big guys,” Blietz-Bentien said. “He’ll be a big loss, but I know we’re going to put work in in the offseason and come back bigger and faster and stronger. We’re going to be back.”
