CLINTON — This past Friday and Saturday, the Maroons were home for a pair of non-conference games.  The weekend began with a tough game against Route 51 South rival Maroa-Forsyth.  

The Trojans have always been a challenging team and this night would be no different.  The Maroons had a good first half, up by 10 with solid all around play, but led only by one point at the halftime buzzer.  

The last two minutes of the first half spelled the game’s turning point as the Trojans returned for the second half ready for a game, reversing the team roles. 

Clinton did get to within 2 points near the end of the game.  The Trojans went to the line (free throws) more and made 8 of 10 shots to out-distance the Maroons.  

After the 56-50 loss, coach Haurberg said, “Despite the loss, it was good to see us bounce back with a solid effort after a rough night on Tuesday.”  

The Maroons were led by Zeke Hickman with a game high 24 points.   

Then, on the following night, the Maroons returned to the hardwood of Vance Gymnasium to face the Illini Central Cougars from Mason City.   

The Maroons played solid defense and controlled the rebounds and then transitioned that into a dominating offense.  Although the middle of the game was not as dynamic as the first and fourth quarters, the Maroons never gave up its double-digit lead and came away with a 65-44 win.  

The Maroons were led again by Zeke Hickman with 16 points followed by Clayton Welch with 13.  Game high honors went to Illini Central’s Alex Marshall with 25 points.  The Maroons are now 3-4 on the season with conference play yet to begin.

     The Junior Varsity (JV) team had the same outcome as the varsity with a loss to Maroa-Forsyth (55-38) and a win against Illini Central (41-28).  The Maroon JV was led by Max Johnson with 10 points in the Maroa-Forsyth game and by Aidan Shanks with 13 points in the Illini Central match up.