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Marshall’s defense has powered the Statesmen to three straight victories, including a pivotal win over Liberty District leader Yorktown.
Through Jan. 31, the boys basketball team held a 13-7 overall record and stood second in the district at 5-4. Its latest victory was a 63-34 road rout of Annandale in non-district play.
That followed a 64-49 road win over Yorktown, handing the Patriots their first Liberty District loss of the season.
“We had two real good games on back-to-back nights,” Marshall coach Jerry Lin said.
The Statesmen have limited every opponent to 55 points or fewer in the nine games since allowing a season-high 68 during a holiday tournament loss. During that stretch, Marshall has held teams to totals as low as 29, 34, 35, 38, 40, 45, 49 and 50 points.
“We played hard the whole game against Yorktown, and our defense was good again,” Lin said. “Then we came right back against Annandale and showed we were ready to go and play hard again. That shows mental growth from this team, and we are happy about that.”
Senior center Anderson Krisko delivered 15 points and 15 rebounds against Yorktown before recording nine points and 10 rebounds against Annandale.
“We came out shooting hot in both games, gave it our all, and we executed and ran our game plans,” Krisko said.
Shreyas Vaidya provided a major spark from outside. He scored 16 points and made two 3-pointers against Yorktown, then sank six shots from beyond the arc while scoring 18 against Annandale.
“Him hitting those outside shots made a big difference,” Lin said.
Osteen Suguru added 13 points against Yorktown, while Trey Lonardo scored nine.
Lonardo followed with 10 points and seven rebounds against Annandale. Jackson Fraser contributed nine points, four assists and two steals.
Wesley Ochsendorf came off the bench for two points and 11 rebounds. Suguru added two points, three assists and two steals, Rishab Saravanan finished with three points, three assists and three rebounds, and Amjed Oubei scored four points.
Marshall’s defensive consistency has extended even to some defeats. The Statesmen surrendered only 35 and 40 points in separate district losses to Wakefield.