For much of the season, the Columbia Wildcats struggled to establish an identity with so many players unavailable after earning football scholarships. But over the past weeks, they have improved dramatically in the half court both offensively and defensively, and it culminated Tuesday night in Columbia beating Bay 48-45 in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
After entering the Region 7-4A Tournament as the fifth-place team, the Wildcats (9-15) won two games to earn the No. 3 seed from the district and drew a favorable against Bay (8-21), who was the No. 2 seed from Region 8.
With the three-point victory Tuesday night, Columbia will travel to take on Raymond (25-5) Saturday in a matchup the Wildcats will likely be considered the underdog in. However, the Wildcats have been the underdog in several games over the past three weeks and have been extremely competitive while pulling off a few upsets. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
While the Wildcats advanced the Round 2, the East Marion Eagles (12-15) had their season come to a close Tuesday after falling 63-54 to Heidelberg on the road. East Marion led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter but was outscored 13-6 in the second quarter and 24-18 in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles went 6-2 in the month of January but ended the season on a five-game losing streak.
Three Marion County teams are still alive in the playoffs: The Wildcats, West Marion Lady Trojans and Woodlawn Prep Wolfpack. The Wolfpack will play West Memphis Thursday at 4 p.m. in the second round of the MAIS Class 2A Tournament, and the Lady Trojans will play Union Friday night at 7 in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
