The Marshall Tigers got off to a 12-0 start Wednesday night and never trailed in beating the Worthington Trojans 77-60 in Section 2AAA boys basketball quarterfinal action.
Host Marshall, the No. 2 seed, led the seventh-seeded Trojans by as many as 21 points in the first half before heading to the locker room with a 39-24 advantage at the break.
The Tigers then tallied the first six points of the second half and, after a Jacari Swinea bucket for WHS, went on to score 15 consecutive points to make it a 60-26 game. That essentially sealed the deal, though the Trojans managed to trim the Marshall lead significantly. Down 67-34 with 7:56 to go, the Trojans were able to get the margin down to 17 points on four occasions, including at the final buzzer.
Swinea, a senior, closed out his hoops career for Worthington High with a team-best 21 points. Sophomore Caleb Meyer had nine points and senior Permeye Okony had eight as the Trojans finished their season with a record of 5-21.
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At the Minnesota State Class A Boys Hockey Tournament Wednesday, top-seeded Hibbing/Chisholm got four goals in the first period and blanked eighth-seeded Luverne 7-0 at the Xcel Energy Center.
Luverne will play a consolation round game at noon Thursday at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
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