By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- It might not make sense to say the Niles varsity basketball team controlled Tuesday's 54-36 loss to Marshall, but that's what happened.
Even Marshall coach Dan Coddens admitted the Vikings were in control.
Marshall, which is ranked No. 2 in Class B and is 14-0 on the year, played right into Niles' hands defensively, but the Vikings (3-10) struggled to find any offensive success.
Parks' strategy was to run time off the clock with every possession, and in doing so, limit Marshall's offensive possessions. Niles did that, but never got its offensive attack going.
The result was just 11 first-half points on 4-of-19 shooting from the floor for the Vikings, which trailed 24-11 at halftime.
Although Coddens did not approve of Niles dictating the game's tempo, he was happy with his team's defensive effort.
Much of the focus defensively for Niles was Marshall's Patrick McCloskey, a 6-7 center who will continue his basketball career at Oakland University next year. He scored a game-high 22 points, but managed just one field goal in the first half.
McCloskey spearheaded the Redskins' third-quarter run that put the game out of Niles' reach. McCloskey opened the half with a breakaway dunk and scored nine of his team's 13 points in the period. Niles managed just two points in the third quarter.
The Vikings' offense finally got rolling in the fourth quarter, when even Parks admitted the game was essentially over. Niles outscored Marshall 23-17 in the final period. Lonnie Jones scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter and Stacy Caskey added six points in the period.
McCloskey was the only player in double figures for either team. Ryan Thomas scored eight for Marshall.
John Kessick paced the Vikings with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Niles junior varsity team beat Marshall 70-57. Tom Robson paced the Vikings with 21 points and Lavette Walker added 20. Nick Johnson also scored 17 for Niles.
Niles hosts Dowagiac Friday night in a Big 16 Conference West Division contest.
Marshall….54
Niles……….36
Marshall: Patrick McCloskey 7 8-12 22, Ryan Thomas 3 2-2 8, Evan Sharpley 2 2-2 7, Lance Crull 2 0-0 4, Joe Dawson 1 0-1 3, Mitch Robinson 0 1-2 1, Doug Brotherton 0 0-0 0, Todd Gore 0 2-2 2, Matt Stefan 0 2-2 2, Ryan Storey 0 0-0 0, Clint Burghdorf 2 1-2 5. Totals: 17 18-25 54
Niles: Karyce Pulliam 0 0-0 0, Scott Quaye 0 0-0 0, Marcus Lawshea 2 0-0 5, Dane Ford 0 0-0 0, Ivery Cross 1 0-0 3, Kelby Jemison 0 2-4 2, Stacy Caskey 3 0-0 6, Nate Parks 0 0-0 0, Paul Wreggelsworth 0 0-0 0, Adrian Davis 0 0-0 0, Ben Landgraf 0 1-2 1, Lonnie Jones 3 1-3 7, Jason Rutkowske 0 0-0 0, Andrew Foster 1 0-0 2, Nick Etzcorn 0 1-2 1, John Kessick 4 0-0 8, Brian Ketchum 0 1-2 1. Totals: 14 6-13 36
Marshall 16 8 13 17--54
Niles 4 7 2 23--36
3-point shooting: Marshall 2 (Sharpley, Dawson), Niles 2 (Cross, Lawshea). Team fouls (fouled out): Marshall 13 (none), Niles 18 (none). Team records: Marshall 14-0, Niles 3-10