Mexico freshman Kaden Benne played three quarters in the junior varsity game Monday at home hours before he would leave his mark against Marshall.

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The Bulldogs went back-and-forth with their North Central Missouri Conference foe for a little more than two quarters, being down 31-30 at one point until Benne drained a 3-pointer off the bench. He then knocked down four more, and Mexico scored 53 points in the second half to win 75-46.

“I’ve put a lot of work in practice, standing around and shooting and what-not, but I think just staying around and putting in those extra shots is what really helped me tonight,” Benne said.

Prior to Benne’s first 3-pointer, Mexico (14-8, 6-1 NCMC) was competitive as PJ Perkins kept pulling down rebounds as part of his eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and DJ Long was well on his way to supplying another 23 points and six rebounds off the bench. Stephen Caviness led Marshall (3-18, 0-6 NCMC) with 14 points, and Deacon Arends followed with 10 points.

Still, Marshall had the slight edge of 23-22 at halftime and kept responding to the Bulldogs, who hadn’t knocked down a 3-pointer until around three or four minutes left in the third quarter. Benne’s first 3-pointer opened the door for a 7-0 run and then a 31-10 fourth quarter.

“They went zone, and we weren’t shooting very well in the first half,” head coach Darren Pappas said. “We got open looks, but they just weren’t falling. Jaydon Eldridge, he didn’t shoot it very well tonight, but he will hit shots and he’s going to continue to shoot. DJ’s shot from the perimeter wasn’t falling as well as it has been, and Jordan’s (Shelton) didn’t fall as well. Anthony (Shivers), same way.

“But, it’s good to see a freshman like that has put in the work, that has put in the time — that are unseen hours after practice when nobody’s around continually shooting on the gun — pay off in a big way.”

Mexico had a stronger hold on the game going into the fourth quarter, leading 44-36, but was able to make the score better resemble the first meeting when the Bulldogs won 73-32 at Marshall in December.

Benne said his “great teammates” did a great job finding Benne whenever he was open as Mexico was content with feeding the hot hand. Factoring some defensive plays on the ball, the freshman was warmed up after his foray in the JV game earlier in the night.

“You’ve got to be ready at every time, but it’s fun to play more ball, I think,” Benne said. “You just keep getting better.”

While Mexico had a big boost from its bench, the Bulldogs needed to bear down on Marshall’s offense first, Pappas said. Getting stops more frequently led to more success on the offensive end.

“I thought came out and pressured a little bit better in the full court,” Pappas said. “Our rotations were quicker, we had two on the ball at all times, we were very active with our hands and not gambling as much, and we were getting some deflections and just going and getting it.”

Pappas said Long and Perkins also gave Mexico valuable minutes off the bench as the pair were always active on and off the ball along with Shelton and Shivers, who combined for five steals.

Long slotted in well to his usual role as the floor general, Pappas said. and has displayed his combination as a point guard and good defender. He said Perkins was that energy the Bulldogs needed in the second quarter while they were still battling.

“PJ, he is our top rebounder — he’s got like 112 rebounds on the year already,” Pappas said. “He’s just a sophomore, but he has a knack for going and getting it off the rim and reading it out of the hand. We’re going to need that out of him, to continue being that player that’s going to give us everything they’ve got. I feel like he did that tonight.”

Mexico goes on the road for three straight before its final home game Feb. 21 against Hannibal for Senior Night. The Bulldogs played St. Elizabeth (14-8), who received votes in the latest Class 1 state poll, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and then conference rival and Class 4 No. 7 Fulton (16-3, 4-1 NCMC) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.