In a raucous environment between two old Marion County foes, East Marion claimed a road victory over Columbia 56-52 Dec. 12.
After dropping a close, emotional 60-59 game at West Marion Dec. 8, the Eagles were hungry to get back on track. Donny Anderson led the way for East Marion, scoring 22 points, bringing in six rebounds and blocking four shots. La’darien Haynes took the lead for the Eagles on a wide open layup, and Anderson made a field goal and the ensuing and-1 to help the Eagles go on a 12-2 run to clinch the victory over the Wildcats.
“I was proud of our guys for fighting through,” East Marion head coach Calvin Brown said. “That was probably the most physical, intense and aggressive team we’ve played. West (Marion) is always real physical and aggressive, but you can count a lot of it to the rivalry. These were some football dogs that were taking some of Louisville out on us. They’re some physical specimens, like their bodies are impressive. I thought we played through a lot and fought through a lot.”
“I give all the credit in the world to East Marion. They played very, very well,” Columbia head coach Brian Butler said. “They shot it extremely well from the free throw line, and we shot it extremely poorly from the free throw line. We were about 10-20 – about 50%. Our goal usually game-wise is about 70%, so we weren’t knocking down the free throws we were supposed to make. Then toward the end of the game, we just weren’t making some of the plays down the stretch that we should have made to seal it.”
Though the Eagles were victorious and Anderson led all players in scoring, a star might have been born for the Wildcats in the form of Christian Expose. The freshman scored 18 points – the most for Columbia – with three assists, as he showed his potential as a danger from downtown. Following the game, Expose’s performance was one of the only things Brown could think about.
“I was so impressed with that young man. He just jumped off the page,” the Eagles coach said. “If you asked me about that game 100 times, the first thing I’d remember is just how impressive he was to be a true freshman. … I love the mistakes he makes. Even when he makes freshman mistakes, he makes them with so much courage and commission. He doesn’t make mistakes trying to hide, he makes them trying to make something happen. He was very impressive.”
“He’s a special player,” Butler said. “He’s really talented and works very hard. He has all the ability in the world, and he’s really willing to work to cultivate it. He’s coming into his own, and he’s learning how to pick his spots. He’s learning what we need from him as a group, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes.”
Lozavius Armstrong recorded the first basket of the game, immediately followed by a deuce by Tra Lewis to tie. East Marion held a 27-20 lead as time in the first half dwindled down. Jeremiah Tatum had numerous opportunities in the paint before the final buzzer, but the East Marion defense buckled down and denied the senior to end the half.
The Wildcats started a comeback in the third quarter thanks to Expose, pulling within a point before a contested layup followed by an and-1 by Haynes put the Eagles up 40-36. The Wildcats followed up with a field goal and an and-1 of their own before Anderson swished a pair of free throws to go up by three. Then, Expose sent the fans inside the Columbia High gym in a frenzy by hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer from way beyond the arc to tie the game at 42 heading into the fourth quarter.
Columbia’s final lead of the game came on another long ball by Expose to go up 47-44, but a deuce in the paint followed by Haynes’ aforementioned go-ahead shot gave East Marion a 48-47 lead with 4:17 left in the game. Following Anderson’s and-1, the Wildcats managed to pull within two with a jumper, but Caden Mingo recorded a steal and made the ensuing layup to give East Marion a much-needed four-point cushion. Anderson recorded a steal and a basket of his own thereafter, and yet another and-1 made it a 56-49 game. The Wildcats managed to hit another three, and Lucious Prejean missed a three with four seconds left to put the final nail in the coffin for Columbia.
The Eagles move on to host the 2023 East Marion Holiday Classic, tipping off Thursday. The Wildcats are slated to play Jeff Davis County, while the Eagles take on West Marion in a rematch. Tip-off between the Wildcats and Jaguars is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., while the Eagles and Trojans play at 8:30 p.m.
