SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

Marietta 75
Warren 66 a final

Scoring by Quarter:

Marietta ....... 16 .... 23.... 19....17 .... 75
Warren .......... 11.......15.... 14 .....26... 66


Pfloyd's official "UN-official" Napkin Stats - Warren

Scoring ... Blake Grimes 32, Shawn Adams 10, Hudson Elzey 9, Jackson Perdue 7, Jaxon Venham 5, Liam Grosselin 3
3 Pointers ... 4/11 ... Hudson Elzey 2, Jackson Perdue 1, Shawn Adams 1
FTs ... 12/14
TOs ... 12
PnP ... 19 fgs/ 38 points in the paint
PnT ... 7 fgs/ 14 points in transition
Pbk ... 2 fgs/ 4 points on putback buckets

Pfloyd's official "UN-official" Napkin Stats - Marietta


Scoring ... Zaiden Wittekind 30, Owen Riley 29, Graesyn Moat 7, Trey Hawkins 5, Logan Grosklos 2, Trenton McVey 2
3 Pointers ... 5/21 ... Owen Riley 3, Zaiden Wittekind 1, Graesyn Moat 1
FTs ... 10/16
TOs ... 9
PnP ... 24 fgs/ 48 points in the paint
PnT ... 6 fgs/12 points in transition
Pbk ... 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback buckets

...this years Warren/Marietta series played out just as it looked on paper in the preseason ... a Marietta Tiger team loaded with seniors - 7 seniors on the roster/ all 5 starters being seniors with going on 3 & 4 years varsity experience, senior size/physicality , 3 excellent players in seniors 6-3 Trey Hawkins/6-3 Owen Riley/6-3 Zaiden Wittekind vs a Warren team that has 2 seniors, both with now 12 games of varsity experience to go with 2 jrs with 12 gms of varsity experience, 4 sophomores with 12 games of varsity experience ... size? sophomore Blake Grimes weighs in at 6-3 ... unlike Warren teams of the past - physical strength is not there (yet) ... excellent players? Warren has had games where 8-9 players score the ball, last game vs Tri Valley 4 players were in double figures in the WHS win ... not sure you can pinpoint outstanding players - it's a TEAM ...a team learning to play at the varsity level ... Marietta took the opening game of this years series 51-43 at the Coliseum @ Warren ... Warren led in that one thru 3 qtrs before the Marietta pressure/Warren turnovers pushed the Tigers out front for good ... Marietta last night looked to sweep the season series for the first time since the 2008-09 season ... the Washington County rivalry series hasn't really been close over the years - I went back on MaxPreps to look into the numbers ( and we know that everything on MaxPreps is true [sarcasm] ) - since 2008-09 when the Tigers took both games during the season Marietta next won a game in the series in 2018-19 Warren went 19-0 in that 10 year span of the series before Marietta won at home by 2 pts over the Warriors .... Warren started a new streak going 3 season & 6-0 over the Tigers ... enter Coach Austin Gardner in the 22-23 season, since Coach Gardner's take over Marietta has split with the Warriors during the regular season/ Marietta has had 4 straight winning seasons under Coach Gardner with this years team being the first class that he has had a hand in their development as a TEAM for their entire varsity experience - last night's results, the first Tiger sweep in 18 years over Warren ... prior to Coach Gardner in that 18 years MHS went 1-26 vs Warren, during the Gardner 4 yr stint Marietta leads the series 5-3 (with a chance the two teams could meet in the D3 post season for a 3rd game this season)... Marietta 75 Warren 66 a final ...

... packed house last night in "the Jungle" as the sign says over the gym entrance ... thank you to the folks at Marietta for putting a table up in the cheap seats above the visitor section ! ok, so it wasn't for me necessarily BUT pfloyd claimed it last night ... last night was proof that size DOES matter, experience DOES matter and yes, more talent due to upper classman status DOES matter ... thru the opening 2 quarters the "goatee" brothers of Owen Riley/Zaiden Wittekind outscored the Warren TEAM 28-26 ... Wittekind in the 1st period scoring 9pts and 4 in the 2nd when Riley went off for 15 pts with 3 treys/a pair of drive and scores at the rim and putback bucket ... in the 3rd the baton/ball was handed back to Wittekind who added 12 more points to his total - 25 thru 3 and Riley took the complimentary 4 pt quarter in the 3rd ... the final quarter it was Riley adding 10 pts to his own tally to give him 29 for the game and Wittekind with 5pts to give the 6-3 senior the Tiger scoring honors for the night with 30 pts ... between the talented tandem they put up 59 of the team 75 pts/ knocked down 4 of the teams 5 three pointers ... and 38 of the team 48 points in the paint ... looking at these totals you would think the final score would have been what the Marietta faithful was looking for - a "blowout" ... probably versus any other team/program besides Warren the game WOULD HAVE finished as a 20+ point blowout or a running clock situation (as I've seen in a couple games this season elsewhere, the opposing coach has sat on the bench/letting the game clock runout) ... were talking Coach Maddox, the Warren Warriors here ... 32 minutes of basketball, with a young team that WAS down 5-12 with 2:38 in the 1st ... 13-29 at 5:13 ... 20-35 at 2:18 in the 2nd qtr ... 31-51 @ 3:21 , 35-54 at 1:59 in the 3rd ... Coach Maddox COACHES/TEACHES for 32 minutes win or lose... Warren entered the game on a 4 game winning streak, players were figuring out what their roles were/are ... the "goto" players were rising to the top 5-10 so. Jackson Perdue had become THE offensive guy, 5-7 so. Liam Grosselin had been getting bigger minutes due to his overall hustle, rebounding from the PG position, scoring from behind the arc, sr. Hudson Elzey was finding the range from deep ... when a team starts "getting better" they look better on tape , which in the big scheme of things also means that opposing teams see/know who needs to be "taken away" when Warren is on offense - Coach Gardner for Marietta "ain't bad"(sarcasm)- opposing coaches look at the 1,2,3 scoring options on the Warrior team, #1 scoring option gets the #1 defender, etc.down the line... Marietta took away the #1 scoring option - Perdue, etc. leaving points to have to come from EVERYONE else ... a major hole in the Warren offense (and defense) is not having a "big man" in the post - in the past 6-5 to 6-7 in the post , strong on the boards, a rim protector on D, a set scoring option on offense ... this year no experience in the paint ... 6-2 Shawn Adams a junior, 6-3 or so Blake Grimes and 6-1 sr. Caleb Tullius manned the position but it hasn't been where the post position offense was a "go to option" ... last night 6-3 so. Blake Grimes was the best post player on the floor for either side ... the youngster put up 32 points, created for himself off the dribble ...outstanding game by the sophomore in the paint ... Warren won the final quarter 26-17 on the scoreboard ... forced 5 Marietta turnovers ... down 18 to start the quarter , fought to get the score to a 6 points game at 58-64 with 3:34 to play with a chance to make it a one possession game ... Grimes tied the Wittekind/Riley tag team scoring combo in 4th quarter at 15-15 ... Grimes in the quarter had 3 buckets taking it to the rim "& 1's" in the period ...Warren had 4 buckets "& 1's" in the final 8 minutes that they converted... the Tigers + the clock against the Warriors forced WHS to foul ... MHS went 7/11 down the stretch to give them the final 9 pt advantage ... Marietta 75 Warren 66 ...

Warren "positives" take aways :

+ Blake Grimes became the MAN in the middle ... more for the opposition to "have to" account for
+ down 20 points ... no quit in the youngsters ... got to within 6 pts + plus the ball to take it to one possession...
+ other youngsters HAD TO step up - as the game opened the only scoring for Warren was Grimes with 11 pts in the 1st...Marietta took away the usual scorers (Perdue,Grosselin,Tullius) ... the "role" players stepped up - instead of looking to pass to THE guys, they looked at themselves - Adams 8pts in the 2nd half/Venham 5 pts, Grosselin/Perdue found a way with 8 pts/Elzey with 2pts in that 26 pt 4th period ...
+ playing against the strength/physicality of Marietta, youngsters who may or may not take "lifting" as something important got a firsthand "feel" for NEEDING to take the weight room seriously ... lifting to gain muscle, strength should be a priority in their OWN minds now ...

+ Warren shot 86% from the FT line (yeah, when cookies are on the line you round up) - Coach Maddox's wife - Sally- has to bake cookies for the team

Arguably the best defensive point guard in southeast Ohio and the primary ball handler for Marietta, 6-3 Trey Hawkins, did not play very many minutes due to a leg/hip injury. There were many "keys" to the game that influenced the outcome and the winning margin, but Hawkins absence was the most impactful.

Am I correct that the 5-3 record of coach Gardner vs coach Mattox includes only regular season contests?

What about the positive takeaways for Marietta? They controlled the game. Only reason it got within single digits was because of some sloppy play down the stretch. When they did what they were supposed to, Warren offered no resistance. Also, as shared above...if Hawkins plays the entire game this is not close. He is the calming factor for the Tigers. Marietta physically pushed Warren around and was by far the more athletic team.

Warren is young, yes, but outside of the Grimes kid none of their young guys look very impressive at all.

mhs95_06 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:44 pm Am I correct that the 5-3 record of coach Gardner vs coach Mattox includes only regular season contests?

Yes, Gardner is 5-4 vs Warren including a postseason loss.

boss8 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:48 pm What about the positive takeaways for Marietta? They controlled the game. Only reason it got within single digits was because of some sloppy play down the stretch. When they did what they were supposed to, Warren offered no resistance. Also, as shared above...if Hawkins plays the entire game this is not close. He is the calming factor for the Tigers. Marietta physically pushed Warren around and was by far the more athletic team.

Warren is young, yes, but outside of the Grimes kid none of their young guys look very impressive at all.

I actually thought there was going to be a Part 2, because nothing about Hawkins in the writeup and no "Marietta take-aways" good, bad or indifferent. And I agree Boss, a healthy Hawkins and it's a 20-point margin.

SouthEast Hoops Fan wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:20 pm

boss8 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:48 pm What about the positive takeaways for Marietta? They controlled the game. Only reason it got within single digits was because of some sloppy play down the stretch. When they did what they were supposed to, Warren offered no resistance. Also, as shared above...if Hawkins plays the entire game this is not close. He is the calming factor for the Tigers. Marietta physically pushed Warren around and was by far the more athletic team.

Warren is young, yes, but outside of the Grimes kid none of their young guys look very impressive at all.

I actually thought there was going to be a Part 2, because nothing about Hawkins in the writeup and no "Marietta take-aways" good, bad or indifferent. And I agree Boss, a healthy Hawkins and it's a 20-point margin.

Love PFloyds passion and insight, but we all know Blaine Maddox is his boy

Was Hawkins out the first time they played or was he hurt in that one too? Because that’s two wins over Warren with less than a 20 point difference so I assume he’s been hurt for both

Thanks for the write up Pfloyd, Perdue has been "off" for a few games but hoping he can find his stroke again and provide some support on the offensive side of the ball.

HamPorter wrote: Wed Jan 14, 2026 12:14 am Was Hawkins out the first time they played or was he hurt in that one too? Because that’s two wins over Warren with less than a 20 point difference so I assume he’s been hurt for both

Yes.

boss8 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 11:49 pm

SouthEast Hoops Fan wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:20 pm

boss8 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:48 pm What about the positive takeaways for Marietta? They controlled the game. Only reason it got within single digits was because of some sloppy play down the stretch. When they did what they were supposed to, Warren offered no resistance. Also, as shared above...if Hawkins plays the entire game this is not close. He is the calming factor for the Tigers. Marietta physically pushed Warren around and was by far the more athletic team.

Warren is young, yes, but outside of the Grimes kid none of their young guys look very impressive at all.

I actually thought there was going to be a Part 2, because nothing about Hawkins in the writeup and no "Marietta take-aways" good, bad or indifferent. And I agree Boss, a healthy Hawkins and it's a 20-point margin.

Love PFloyds passion and insight, but we all know Blaine Maddox is his boy

Yes he loves Maddox. Maddox probably talks to him before the game. LOL

HamPorter wrote: Wed Jan 14, 2026 12:14 am Was Hawkins out the first time they played or was he hurt in that one too? Because that’s two wins over Warren with less than a 20 point difference so I assume he’s been hurt for both

... Hawkins played 27 minutes or so in the first game ...

SouthEast Hoops Fan wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 6:20 pm Arguably the best defensive point guard in southeast Ohio and the primary ball handler for Marietta, 6-3 Trey Hawkins, did not play very many minutes due to a leg/hip injury. There were many "keys" to the game that influenced the outcome and the winning margin, but Hawkins absence was the most impactful.

I had to read the writeup twice, but I do not see Trey Hawkins name even mentioned one time. Really strange. Arguably the best all-around player on either team and his injury isn't part of the game summary? On then other hand, the Grimes kid for Warren showed some real promise. Scores in a variety of ways and knows how to put himself in position.

meatswinger wrote: Thu Jan 15, 2026 11:23 am

boss8 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 11:49 pm

SouthEast Hoops Fan wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:20 pm
I actually thought there was going to be a Part 2, because nothing about Hawkins in the writeup and no "Marietta take-aways" good, bad or indifferent. And I agree Boss, a healthy Hawkins and it's a 20-point margin.

Love PFloyds passion and insight, but we all know Blaine Maddox is his boy

Yes he loves Maddox. Maddox probably talks to him before the game. LOL

Maddox is one of the best coaches/leaders of young men in the entire region and has been for a long time. What's not to love? He is also from Logan

ZTPMM88 wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 5:12 am

meatswinger wrote: Thu Jan 15, 2026 11:23 am

boss8 wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 11:49 pm

Love PFloyds passion and insight, but we all know Blaine Maddox is his boy

Yes he loves Maddox. Maddox probably talks to him before the game. LOL

Maddox is one of the best coaches/leaders of young men in the entire region and has been for a long time. What's not to love? He is also from Logan

Maddox isn't the issue here. It is the unusual way in which this summary was written. Not typical.

SouthEast Hoops Fan wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 12:24 pm

ZTPMM88 wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 5:12 am

meatswinger wrote: Thu Jan 15, 2026 11:23 am

Yes he loves Maddox. Maddox probably talks to him before the game. LOL

Maddox is one of the best coaches/leaders of young men in the entire region and has been for a long time. What's not to love? He is also from Logan

Maddox isn't the issue here. It is the unusual way in which this summary was written. Not typical.

Maybe you can writeup an article for the next game.

Whs95fan wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 12:28 pm

SouthEast Hoops Fan wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 12:24 pm

ZTPMM88 wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 5:12 am

Maddox is one of the best coaches/leaders of young men in the entire region and has been for a long time. What's not to love? He is also from Logan

Maddox isn't the issue here. It is the unusual way in which this summary was written. Not typical.

Maybe you can writeup an article for the next game.

I'd mention key factors for BOTH teams. I'd write "takeaways" for both teams if I was going to publish any at all. I'd mention the best player on the floor had to leave the game early with an injury. This was just not a typical Pfloyd summary, which are usually thorough and objective. I'm not sure why this one was different. Do you?

Sounds like someone’s butt was hurt!! Get over it….

Sportsfanallnitelong wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 3:44 pm Sounds like someone’s butt was hurt!! Get over it….

Not at all. Others weighed in on this as well. Just an unusual summary that is not typical of how things are written on here. This forum is obviously not something to get "butt hurt" over.