There was standing room only in Columbia High School's gymnasium for the opening tip-off of Friday night's basketball games against cross-town rival East Marion. The Lady Wildcats dominated their way to a sizable 41-14 victory while the Wildcats grinded out a victory of 58-48.
For East Marion's teams, Friday night's showdowns served as their season debuts. Head coach Calvin Brown said it felt great to be back on the court, especially with a packed visitors section cheering on both the boys and the girls from start to finish.
"I actually made an announcement at school Monday morning about how grateful we were for the level of support we received at Friday night's game," Brown said. "Our fans have always been supportive, and we draw pretty nice crowds for our holiday tournaments and playoff games, but it's pretty rare to see that much energy and excitement in the stands for a regular-season game."
Defense was the name of the game that helped the Lady Wildcats (2-5) pull away with ease in the first contest of the evening. They held the Lady Eagles (0-1) to only one made shot from the field through the first two quarters, which was a three-pointer by Ja'keria McCloud. Columbia's Payshunce Sims and Zhyon Dillon led the way offensively with four points apiece as the Lady Wildcats pulled away early for an 18-5 halftime lead.
All hands were on deck through the second half, as nine Lady Wildcats scored during the final two quarters of action. Sims finished the night with a game-high seven points, followed by Columbia's Dillon and East Marion's McLoud with six points apiece.
The win couldn't have come at a much better time for the Lady Wildcats, who came into the contest hoping to claw their way back from a tough 1-5 start to the 2022-23 campaign. Head coach Charlie James said the team's goal is to continue building on what worked for them against East Marion as they move closer toward the start of district play.
"We still have a long way to go and plenty to work on, but I thought we played a pretty complete ball game on Friday," James said. "Defensively, we didn't give them any easy looks, we rebounded well and we did a good job of disrupting passing lanes. Offensively we just did what we were supposed to do. Again, still plenty of work to be done, be those are the kinds of things we can build on going forward. Hopefully we'll stack a few more wins in the process."
As for the Lady Eagles, Brown said he expects each game to be a learning experience going forward as his young roster continues to learn and develop, with Friday's loss being the team's first big lesson.
"I think each game we play is going to teach our girls something new. They still have a lot to learn about themselves as a team and about how to expect other teams to attack us," Brown said. "Friday night was really their first look at any competition, but they'll be alright. We'll keep growing and makings steps in the right direction."
The crowd's energy was even higher for the boys game, which remained anyone's contest until the final quarter. Columbia first-year head coach Brian Butler said it was exciting to see yet another example of how much support the community shows for his and other local teams.
"It was incredible. Both sides of the gym were packed, and everyone was sitting hip to hip," Butler recalled. "All of our players were engaged and excited. The crowd basically set the atmosphere for us, and I talk to our guys a lot about how you want to play in that type of environment and have an edge at your home games that other gyms might not have. You see that a lot at the football games, and we just want to keep growing along with these other programs and build that same championship environment."
Although each quarter was tightly contested, the Wildcats managed to outscore the Eagles by five in both the first and second quarters. Lu Prejean sank a corner three at the halftime buzzer to tie Kendale Johnson and Avyon Lewis with six points through the first half and send the Wildcats into the locker room with a 25-15 advantage.
But the Eagles wouldn't go down without a fight. East Marion made a strong push down the backstretch to close the gap, led by Caden Mingo, who scored 10 points in the final quarter. But ultimately, Lewis' and Johnson's ability to knock down free throws allowed the Wildcats to withstand the comeback attempt and maintain the lead, earning a hard-fought 58-48 victory.
"I thought that, for the boys, the game was almost all emotion," Brown said. "We looked over a few different things as a team on Monday, but for the most part there wasn't a whole lot to be taken away from it because the game was more about emotions.
"I thought coach Butler's team did a better job than we did of settling down and finding their rhythm, and I thought Kendale made some really big plays for them down the stretch when he needed to. But that's all right. We'll learn what we can from this one and just move forward one game at a time."
Columbia's teams hosted North Forrest on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. On Friday they'll be on the road for a pair of non-district matchups with Seminary. The Eagles will be back in action Friday night when they travel to Foxworth to take on yet another cross-county rival, West Marion.
