Playing with a migraine, the senior guard pours in 37 points in Marion’s 73-56 win, one that sends the Wolves back to the state tournament
Jeff Johnson
WATERLOO — Triggers for migraine headaches include stress, light, noise. In other words, every single thing you had Monday night in a Class 3A substate final at a very packed and loud East High School.
That’s why Brayson Laube was a hurtin’ unit the entire game, had to pop a couple of pills from his mom, Ami, postgame. He simply couldn’t take it anymore and had to head to his Marion team’s locker room for a few minutes of quiet after its 73-56 win over Charles City.
“I felt it,” Laube admitted. “But I knew it was a big moment. I couldn’t let that affect how I played.”
So he didn’t. Marion’s senior guard, the school’s all-time leading career scorer, went off for 37 points, including 23 of his team’s 31 in the first half.
Laube got a lot of help in the second, as the fifth-ranked Wolves (19-5) pulled away to secure their second straight berth in the state tournament. But, all in all, this was his game.
Coming, again, with a migraine headache.
“I knew I was out of it, but you never know when this could be your last game,” Laube said. “So I’m not going out until we make it to state, and I am glad to get there.”
“He was going to do whatever it took for his team to advance,” said Marion Coach Pete Messerli. “That’s exactly what happened. As a coach, you absolutely love to see it.”
Laube scored all 12 of his team’s points in a first quarter that saw Marion and Charles City tied. He had Marion’s first two points of the second quarter before other guys began to help out.
Prep Sports Newsletter Signup
Delivered to your inbox weekly
Rankings, highlights and commentary
Marion led at halftime, 31-28, got layups from Myles Davis and Calen Claypool to begin the second half, and that was pretty much the pattern the rest of the way. Davis hit a couple of big 3-pointers in the third to extend Marion’s lead to double digits.
“It was just kind of getting into the flow of the game,” said Davis, who had 11 points. “We really settled down after we went into halftime and got the job done.”
This is the sixth state tournament appearance since 2009 for Marion, though the school has not won a game in Des Moines since 1952. That’s a long time ago.
Quarterfinal state pairings will not be revealed until Tuesday night because Solon and Newton play their 3A substate final then. So Marion doesn’t know its opponent or when it will play.
But you can put some clues together. Teams ranked in the top 10 by the Iowa High School Athletic Association use their respective ranking as a seed when it comes to the substate final.
Judging by what happened Monday, it appears unbeaten No. 1 Bondurant-Farrar will be the top seed, No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier the second seed and Marion the third seed.
“Let’s celebrate tonight and lock in tomorrow,” Laube said. “The job is not finished. That’s my mentality.”
“This was not the end all, be all tonight,” Messerli said. “We know it’s great competition at (the state tournament) in the first round and beyond. But that’s what we play for. We’re excited.”
Guard Brennan Schmitt led Charles City (17-6) with 16 points. The Comets were seeking their first state tournament appearance since 1956.
AT WATERLOO EAST
CHARLES CITY (56): Chase Low 2-9 4-4 8, Kam Mestas 2-7 6-8 10, Keenan Wiley 5-9 0-0 0 10, Brennan Schmit 4-12 4-4 16, Jack Hanson 3-6 0-0 8, Jeb Wandro 1-4 0-0 2, Kaeden Kasemeier 1-4 0-0 2, Drew Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Steven Cotton 0-0 0-0 0, Joel Villagomez 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 18-48 14-16 56.
MARION (73): Alex Mota 2-8 1-2 6, Calen Claypool 3-7 0-0 6, Brayson Laube 11-19 9-12 37, Myles Davis 4-9 0-0 11, Payton Hodges 2-7 2-2 6, Jordan Fischer 2-3 0-0 5, Trey Franck 1-2 0-0 2, Elijah Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kaiden Griffith 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Kinney 0-0 0-0 0, John Harker 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Noll 0-0 0-0 0, Kylar Whitman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 12-16 73.
Halftime - Marion 31, Charles City 28. 3-point goals - Charles City 6-24 (Low 0-4, Wiley 0-1, Schmidt 4-12, Hanson 2-5, Wandro 0-3), Marion 11-27 (Mota 1-4, Laube 6-11, Davis 3-6, Hodges 0-5, Fischer 1-2). Rebounds - Charles City 28 (Wiley 7), Marion 34 (Mota 9). Total fouls - Charles City 18, Marion 13. Technical foul - Mota. Fouled out - Wiley. Turnovers - Charles City 11, Marion 7.
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com