MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - The Marysville Indians flew past the Liberty Ranch Hawks in the second round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs in a 90-59 win last Friday, February 17.

Marysville jumped out early in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead on the way to their 22nd straight victory on the season.

The Indians were hitting their shots from the jump, including four of six attempts from behind the arc. On top of their high powered offense, the defensive effort was on display with multiple Marysville players stealing the ball from Liberty Ranch left and right.

The Indians led 28-11 by the end of the first and senior guard Amrin Mann led the way with 14 points.

Mann ended with a game-high 30 points and added three steals on the night.

Marysville (27-3) head coach Stan Easter expressed to the Dispatch he had full confidence in his senior leadership to take charge of the game.

Easter added they were in the exact same situation last season when they hosted Venture Academy in the 2022 playoffs and they were beaten at home, so Easter mentioned his seniors remembered what it felt like and didn’t want to experience it again.

Mann exclaimed to the Dispatch that the biggest difference for playoffs is the win or go home mode with the single elimination tournament.

“Our goal from day one was to be in this position, this is our season and what we have been working towards,” Mann said.

The Indians took a 47-28 lead at the half. In the second quarter junior guard Bradford Pietz and sophomore guard Dennis Syders played effective minutes and were able to give breathers to some of the starters.

Mann and Easter both reiterated the play of their bench shows how deep in depth the team is because they all have different strengths and roles on the team.

Easter additionally pointed out the play of the tallest player on the floor in junior center Josiah Arrington and how physical he was throughout the night.

“He has progressed a lot during the season and tonight he was physical with his rebounding,” Easter said.

Arrington had 12 points and eight rebounds during the game including a three-point field goal late in the fourth quarter where the entire Marysville bench jumped up in celebration.

Arrington expressed to the Dispatch that the competition between the Indians practice between their playoff win against Dixon and Liberty Ranch was competitive.

The Indians were successful in getting themselves to the free throw line profusely against the Hawks as they attempted 24 free throws as their season average was 12.7 attempts per game.

With the win, Marysville will travel on the road and play Venture Academy of Stockton in the semifinals of the Division IV playoffs.

Venture Academy is the second seed in the Division IV bracket and is the first meeting between the squad this season.

Mann told the Dispatch it will be a challenging game, but the Indians need to take care of their business and they will be fine. The winner will compete in the finals this Friday at the Golden 1 Center where the Indians played a regular season game with Lathrop in the middle of the season.

The team saying this season for Marysville is “jobs not finished.”

Mann expressed that job was not to jump ahead and focus on Venture Academy first.