The Marquette boys basketball team got off to a solid start in Friday’s championship of the 99th annual Tri-County Conference Tournament against rival Woodland in R.M. Germano Gymnasium at Putnam County High School.

The No. 2-seeded Crusaders outscored the top-seeded Warriors 22-7 in the opening eight minutes and continually added to the lead throughout a 53-29 victory in Granville.

It was the sixth championship at the event for Marquette (17-5), first since 2023, and they have now won six straight games.

Woodland (15-7), which was making its second appearance in the title game, the other coming in 2010, had its eight-game win streak snapped.

“When we played them back in December (a 58-43 Woodland win), they really took it to us at their place,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “They are a tough matchup defensively for us because of how well they spread the floor. We didn’t want to play zone with how good of shooters they have, so we just told our kids they were going to have to get out and guard.

“The biggest keys for us tonight were we got off to a really good start, shot the ball well early, did a good job of defending and switching, and we limited them to one shot for the most part while doing a good job of offensive rebound ourselves.”

Marquette hit 8 of 16 from the field in the first period, including Griffin Dobberstein knocking down a trio of 3-pointers, Alec Novotney netting three field goals and Blayden Cassel contributing five points, while Woodland sank just 2 of 14 shots.

“Marquette came out really ready to go, they guarded us really well and shot the ball well,” Woodland coach Connor Kaminke said. “We knew their height and physicality wasn’t going to be a great matchup for us, but we just didn’t match the physical part nearly as well as we did back in December. They hit shots early and we just didn’t. We had a rough first quarter defensively, but after that we held them to numbers that win you games but not when you struggle to put the ball in the hoop.

“We have been a team all season that just needs to see a shot fall or a positive play to get us rolling, but we just never really had that moment tonight. We had so many shots roll around and out or go halfway down and pop out, but that’s how it goes some nights. It’s just unfortunate that it happened tonight.”

Marquette, which lead 29-12 at halftime and 42-20 after three quarters, finished hitting 23 of 58 (40%) from the floor and held a 47-32 margin on the boards, including grabbing 19 offensive rebounds. Woodland hit on 11 of 51 attempts (22%), including just 3 of 22 from beyond the arc.

“We knew we had to play a very good game defensively,” said Marquette’s Lucas Craig, who had five points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. “Woodland has some really good players and really good shooters in (Nolan) Price and (Nate) Berry, so limiting their open looks was going to be important. When we played them before Christmas, we didn’t do a very good job defensively and they beat us.

“On offense I think with Blayden, Luke (McCullough) and I, we are blessed to have three guys over 6-4. We all feel like we can score down low, but Luke and I feel like we can step out a little bit and score too. I know Hop would like us to make the first shot, but we all have the mentality to just go after every rebound and hopefully keep the ball alive for a second chance.”

Novotney led the Crusaders with 14 points and six rebounds, while Cassel posted 13 points and 11 rebounds, McCullough 12 points and six rebounds, and Dobberstein nine points.

“Luke, Lucas and Blayden all had really good games tonight for us and this was probably Blayden’s best game of the season so far,” Hopkins said. “We feel our post players can be difference makers and they were tonight for sure. Overall, I thought we played a very solid game against a very good team in a big game.”

Price hit three 3s to led Woodland with nine points, while Jaron Follmer added eight points and seven rebounds, and Brezdyn Simons seven points and six rebounds.

Novotney, McCullough and Price were all named to the all-tournament team.