Marion loses a pair on mercy rule

Ell-Saline entered Friday’s matchup against Marion with its boys having won only once and its girls, ranked eighth in the state, having lost only once.

But it seemed to make little difference. The Cardinals easily swept the Warriors with both games played under mercy rules of a running clock in the fourth quarter.

Ell-Saline beat Marion 56-21 in the boys’ game and 68-39 in the girls’ game.

The Cardinal boys snapped a six game losing streak by jumping out to a 22-5 lead over the Warriors in the first quarter and expanding the margin to 42-10 at half.

Junior forward Caden Wilhelm lead Marion’s scoring with 10. Senior guard Campbell Winter had 5. The team’s record fell to 1-9.

Meanwhile, in the evening’s first game, the Cardinal girls jumped out to a similar 20-5 lead after the first quarter and a 40-25 lead at half.

Sophomore guard Grace Hett led Marion’s scorers with 14. Junior guard Calli Burkholder had 9. The team’s record is now 2-8.

Marion is scheduled to play this week at the Cougar Classic at Centre.