By Scott Springer•sspringer@communitypress.com

Depending on how you look at it, 13 years is either a brief span of time or an eternity.

If you’re a fan of Mariemont boys basketball, you may think it’s the latter as that’s how long it’s been since the Warriors claimed the Cincinnati Hills League title.

“1998!”, answered head coach Steve Ellis when asked.

Ellis is well-versed on the Mariemont history as he has the Warriors in the hunt in just his third year on the job.  After seasons of 8-14 and 10-12, Coach Ellis has reached his career high total in wins and is seeking more in the tightly-contested CHL.

Prior to Mariemont’s Jan. 29 game with Indian Hill, the Warriors sat at 10-2 with losses to Madeira and Finneytown.

“It’s anybody’s ballgame, that’s for sure,” said Ellis.

Mariemont, Wyoming, Reading, Madeira and Finneytown are huddled in a mass in the standings, with Indian Hill holding the slight edge. If this were the Kentucky Derby, everyone would still be grasping their tickets waiting for the photo finish.

“Tim (Burch) does a good job over there,” said Ellis of Indian Hill. “He gets them to play really hard. They don’t have the depth or the talent that they’ve had the last couple years, but he gets them to play really hard. They’ve beaten some good teams.”

As for Mariemont’s losses, they have a rematch at Madeira Feb. 9 (Mustangs won the first at Mariemont 73-56) and they split with Finneytown. To make any sense of the CHL this season would make one’s head spin.

“Finneytown’s probably the most athletic team in the league,” said Ellis. “Finneytown beat Madeira two weeks ago by 34. Yet, we lost to Madeira and beat Finneytown Jan. 26. Indian Hill beat Finneytown, but they lost to Wyoming. Madeira just beat Wyoming. Any night, anybody can beat anybody.”

Mariemont’s road from here is literally, on the road.  The Warriors play just one game in the home gym in the month of February (vs. Taylor). Ellis will be seriously leaning on his five starting seniors to do the “steering”.

Guards Job Jennings and Chip Stewart and forward Taylor Sizer have all started for Ellis since his initial season.  They’re the top three Warriors in scoring and a big reason for Mariemont’s resurgence.

“Some coaches come in with a three-year plan or a five-year plan,” said Ellis. “It’s no different in high school as it is in college or other sports. If you don’t win before too long, you’re not going to be there. I was counting on these seniors when they were sophomores that we’d get to this point.”

Ellis also holds high praise for senior point guard David McCormack who leads the city in assists. Along with 25 points and 10 rebounds from Job Jennings, McCormack helped the Warriors to their recent win over Finneytown with the court presence that any basketball coach dreams of.

“They full court pressed him the whole game and he only had one turnover on the night,” said Ellis of McCormack.

Mariemont also has decent size by CHL standards with Jennings and Sizer at 6-3, and center Christian Lehman at 6-5.  Drew Hyer also comes off the bench at 6-5.

“Besides Wyoming, we’re probably the best-sized team in the league,” said Ellis. “Madeira is pretty much six-foot, six-one across the board. Same thing with Indian Hill. We definitely pose a problem with our size. It’s not about the size though. It’s about how hard we play and how well we play defensively.”

To end Mariemont’s 13-year championship drought, Ellis will have to put together some effective defensive schemes.  As noted, six of the final seven games have that notation by them that often plays a part in the outcome.

The one that says, “Away.”

It’s an overused cliche, but Mariemont will truly have to be “Road Warriors” to bring a trophy home.

“It’s tough to win the league,” said Ellis. “We control our destiny at this point.”