Basketball season is now underway for several high school programs throughout Marion County, each of which are entering the season with high hopes for another successful campaign.
The West Marion teams were the first to return to action, with the Trojans and Lady Trojans hosting Petal in their season openers Oct. 27. The girls started things off with a bang, with Raven Jones scoring 27 points to lead the Lady Trojans in an exciting 58-56 win in overtime against the 6A Lady Panthers. Although the Lady Panthers erased a 10-point deficit to tie things up in the fourth quarter, the Lady Trojans' defense buckled down and made several crucial stops in overtime to pull back ahead and secure the victory.
Things started off a little more slowly for the boys' team, which was still missing a handful of key contributors who plan to rejoin the squad this week now that football season has come to an end. Trailing 31-19 at halftime, the Trojans stormed back by outscoring the Panthers 16-8 in the third quarter — led by Jamal Martin, who scored 10 in the quarter and finished with a team-high 13 points — but success at the free throw line for the Panthers in the fourth quarter allowed them to protect their lead and hand the Trojans their first loss of the season, 56-43.
The Lady Trojans traveled to Oak Grove Saturday to take on a familiar foe in the Columbia Academy Lady Cougars. They enjoyed early success in the contest with an effective full-court press defense that allowed them to pull ahead for an early lead, but the Lady Cougars' offense slowly began finding its footing and worked its way back into the contest. An 8-0 run by Columbia Academy late in the second quarter developed into a 19-4 run after continued success in the third quarter, and the Lady Cougars pulled away to secure a 46-38 victory.
Peyton McCain led the Lady Cougars with 14 points in the contest, followed by Maggie Wilks, who finished with 10 points. The Lady Trojans were led once again by Jones, who posted an 18-point performance, followed by Kirsten Williams with 10 points.
The boys' and girls' teams from Columbia took part in the tournament at Oak Grove as well. The Lady Wildcats took a tough 46-17 loss to the Hattiesburg Tigers, and the score for the Wildcats' contest were unavailable at press time. Head coach Brian Butler could not be reached for comments. Both squads will be back in action Thursday night when they play hosts to Mendenhall in their first home games of the season.
The boys and girls from East Marion are scheduled to begin their seasons a little later than usual due to an extended postseason run by the Lady Eagles' volleyball team. They'll both kick off their seasons on Nov. 21 when they travel to Monticello to take part in the Lawrence County Thanksgiving Tournament.
