LINDA, CA (MPG) - The Marysville Indians opened the first day of the second annual Coach Corn Classic with an impressive 67-56 win over the Elk Grove Thundering Herd at Yuba College.

Elk Grove was the defending CIF Division II State Champions but with most of the roster now graduated, Marysville head coach Stan Easter thought it necessary to mention to the Dispatch that the Herd held the title regardless and still is a competitive squad.

On top of the title, Elk Grove also competes in the Delta League, which is the top competitive league in the Sacramento area that includes the first ranked team by The Sacramento Bee in Jesuit and former powerhouse Sheldon, which has multiple CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I titles.

Marysville (10-3) came out and controlled the first quarter and were led by senior guard Amrin Mann. Mann was on fire from beyond the three-point circle as he hit four three’s and led the Indians to a 24-8 lead at the end of the first.

Mann ended the game with 25 points, four rebounds and five assists in the game.

Mann told the Dispatch that the Indians had a great first quarter, and he likes the team chemistry as a whole.

The only flaw Marysville had in the game was getting to the free-throw line throughout the game as they only attempted five total.

The Indians and the Herd were scoreless for the first three minutes of the second quarter.

Marysville senior guard Josh Brown Jr. chipped in 13 of his game-tying high 25 points as well with knocking down three triples in the first half.

Brown added five assists and three rebounds on the night.

The Indians took a 32-18 lead into the half.

Easter expressed to the Dispatch that in the first half, they were able to drive into the paint and have the option to either kick (pass) the ball to the outside or finish at the basket.

“When we’re able to get into the paint and break the defense down, it opens it up for our shooters,” Easter said.

Easter added that for his team to get to the free-throw line more, they need to attack the basket more.

Mann expressed verbatim the Indians need to be more physical and create contact to get to the charity stripe.

Marysville struggled in the second half on their defensive rebounding and early foul trouble. The Indians gave up a lot of offensive rebounds that gave the Herd multiple second chance buckets that turned into threes and let Elk Grove get into the one-and-one regular bonus late in the third recording seven fouls at that point.

Mann emphasized the importance of the rebounding when he exclaimed to the Dispatch that Elk Grove didn’t have a “big”, so they should have been able to limit the second chances for the Herd.

The Marysville lead hovered around eight to 12 points for the remainder of the game and that was from the duo of Mann and Brown Jr. hitting timely buckets.

Indians senior forward Shawn Smith led the rebounding department for Marysville with eight and added six points. Smith is the leading rebounder on the Indians this season averaging 6.6 per contest.

The win was followed up by a 15-point victory over Oakmont and a 25-point win over El Camino where the Indians took the Corn Classic Championship outright.

Brown Jr. was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Junior forward Josiah Arrington and Mann were named to the all-tournament team as well.

All of the Indians competitors throughout the Corn Classic were higher division level teams, and Easter described how much confidence it brought to his squad.

“It’s big for us, we wanted to play these bigger schools so we can be battle tested,” Easter said.

Marysville is a Division IV team as Elk Grove is Division II, Oakmont and El Camino are Division III.

Easter added no matter what the result of these contests were, his team was going to gain a lot of experience and learn a lot about the team.

“It’s going to help us be ready for adverse situations,” expressed Brown to the Dispatch.

Marysville opens up Pioneer Valley League play when they host Sutter on Wednesday and travel to Center on Friday night.

Mann told the Dispatch at the end of the Elk Grove game that they (Marysville) wanted to end the Corn Classic 3-0 and bring all the momentum into PVL play.