JACKSON — The East Marion Eagles (23-4) met their goal this season of getting a chance to play in the Mississippi Coliseum but had their hopes of a state title dashed Thursday morning.
Turnovers (25) and rebounding (45-35 deficit, including allowing 25 offensive boards) doomed the Eagles in Jackson as Okolona dominated the second half and beat East Marion 80-54 in the quarterfinals of the state 1A basketball tournament.
Vashon Sims led the team with 13 points, and Ja’Mario Marsalis contributed 12 in his final game. Caleb Rawls added 11, Flenard McLin chipped in nine and Jordan Howard had seven. Center John Rawls, meanwhile, yielded just two points on a pair of free throws in the first half. He was able to establish quick position in the post throughout the game, but his back-to-the-basket game was minimized as help defenders swarmed him.
While the Eagles best season in quite some time came to an end, they are still a very young team with Howard and Marsalis being the only departing seniors that played a big role in the rotation. Head coach Calvin Brown said if the team remains intact for next season, the expectations will be even higher.
“At a small school with a storied football program a lot of things can happen, but we hope they’re all back,” he said. “If everyone who is on the roster who has eligibility gets back and makes it through football season healthy — this year it was Coliseum or bust — but under those conditions it would be gold ball or bust.”
Okolona’s half-court trap defense made things difficult for East Marion in the first quarter and into the early portion of the second, contesting every pass, shot and dribble, which led to eight turnovers in the first and three through the first four minutes of the second.
But then it clicked for the East Marion, who was able to take care of the ball and get good looks in the last four minutes of the first half. The Eagles closed the half on 13-2 run with Sims scoring eight straight points, trimming a 16-point deficit to a manageable 34-29 score going into the break.
However, the turnover bug reared its ugly head for East Marion once again in the third quarter. Facing Okolona’s length and lateral quickness, East Marion got sped up time and time again and tried to force some tough passes and made a few ill-advised ones as well, leading to 10 turnovers in the third and 25 for the game.
“Every problem we had with their pressure we created for ourselves,” Brown said. “After the run we made we reinforced what we were trying to do. But then we went the entire third quarter without putting a blue jersey on a white jersey. I watched it and that was the only thing I was looking for, waiting for them to put a body on a body and see if we were going to have somebody in competition for a rebound. And it never happened … for eight straight minutes.”
The Eagles struggles with rebounding and interior defense were just as prominent as the turnovers and didn’t play the fast, physical and controlled game they have all season.
“We practiced two things (Wednesday) and that was boxing out and stepping in to take a charge. We did neither,” Brown said. “For that reason they got multiple shots at the basket nearly every possession when they’re already a good team when they get one shot. Then they were free to get both feet in the paint and get to the rim undeterred.”
Throughout the game Brown called timeouts every time Okolona started to make a run and increase their lead further, but he acknowledged the effort simply wasn’t there.
“I was trying to tell them to stop worrying about the game and get in the fight,” he said. “We showed no toughness and no resistance in the paint. (Okolona’s) best offense was the missed shot.”
Athletically the Eagles matched up well with one of the most physically gifted teams in the state but lacked the grittiness that can separate good teams from great.
“We handled the lights OK, we shot it decent and athletically we were pleasantly surprised with how we matched up in person compared to how they looked on film,” coach Brown said. “But the tougher team won. We were just not tough enough today.”
Pictured Above: East Marion's Flenard McLin draws a foul on a drive to the basket against Okolona Thursday during the state 1A quarterfinals at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. The Eagles fell 80-54 to end their season. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
