Mexico wanted a hot start in its North Central Missouri Conference schedule.

The Bulldogs had a hot start in Tuesday’s conference opener against Marshall at home before winning 59-39. They led Marshall 20-6 after the first quarter and had seven players score, including three in double figures.

Mexico head coach Darren Pappas said the team hit timely shots in the first quarter and that especially applies to junior and first-year varsity starter Brady Thoenen. He finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three 3-pointers, nailing two from deep in the first quarter. Pappas said everything was in rhythm for Thoenen as he was not rushing his shot.

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“We knew that there was a possibility that the big kid was going to sag off of him and make him shoot it,” Pappas said. “We know what Brady is capable of doing. It’s good to see him break out and have a big game for us.”

Thoenen said Mexico (4-1) took advantage of Marshall’s mistakes, and he took advantage of the times he was left open. He said he “usually is not that good” from the perimeter but felt different on Tuesday.

“I’ve been missing my 3-pointers recently,” Thoenen said. “I went to the gym and worked on it.”

To further adjust to his first year as a starter, Thoenen said he needs to work on becoming stronger to better fill the 5 role. 

“I got to work on getting bigger and stronger and body people up, trying to get rebounds over bigger guys,” Thoenen said. “I’m just trying to be physical.”

Mexico had others play important roles in Tuesday’s win. Charlie Fisher led the Bulldogs in scoring with 20 points and nine rebounds, which is a typical performance for the senior guard.

James Matthews finished with nine points and four steals, and Kinser Groves had two points but crashed the boards with 11 rebounds. Pappas said Quincy Bruce didn’t score much either but affected the game while he was on the floor, blocking one shot and contributing to Mexico’s transition game.

“That’s what we keep preaching to our guys,” Pappas said. “If things aren’t going the way you think they should be going on the offensive end, impact the game in some other positive way.”

Kaden Benne had 10 points and seven rebounds, which is below average for the senior guard, but Pappas said he took away a key weapon for Marshall (4-1). Chase Thompson usually averages close to 20 points, according to Pappas, but he finished with five points and fouled out.

“He was guarding Chase Thompson,” Pappas said. “We did a really good job of shutting him down and making things tough on him, using our length and our size. That’s a credit to what Kaden is doing.”

Pappas said Mexico did well in the second half mainly by keeping Marshall off the glass. He said the Owls already showed their athleticism in the first half, especially from freshman Zhitavion Shelby, who finished with 12 points and two blocks. 

Marshall has increased its win total over the last three years, and Pappas said this team should “finish toward the top of the conference.” He said beating the Owls is a good start to the conference schedule, and Mexico is depending on everybody heading into Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game at Eugene.

“There’s things that don’t necessarily show up in the scorebook that guys are doing really well,” Pappas said.