The West Marion Trojans are making strides in the right direction after a tough start to the 2022-23 season. Going forward, they'll look to build on momentum captured Dec. 15 with a 71-62 overtime win at Columbia, which marked the Trojans' first victory over the Wildcats since February of 2016.
Despite it being a non-district contest, it was evident from the opening tip-off that the Trojans (3-10) wanted to win badly. Their aggression on defense and ability to cash in turnovers for transition baskets helped them build a significant advantage right out of the gate, leading 21-9 at the end of the first quarter. Senior forward Caleb Varnado said effort made all the difference in the game for the Trojans, who were eager to get back at a Wildcats squad that whipped them 59-25 on their own court last month.
"They kind of embarrassed us here at our place the first time we played them, and they beat us here in football, too, so we really wanted to be able to go to their place and return the favor," Varnado said. "We had to get our lick back."
But the Wildcats wouldn't go down without a fight. Strong second-half performances by Avyon Lewis and Jeremiah Foxworth helped them erase the deficit late in the fourth and send the game in to overtime. But West Marion's Brandon Bullock took over in the extra period, sinking back-to-back shots for five points to regain the lead. The Trojans sank six of eight free throw attempts through the final three minutes of action to maintain the lead until the final buzzer and cement the win.
Head coach Calvin Newsome, who took over the task of coaching both the boys and girls teams at West Marion this winter, said he saw progress on the court for the Trojans even before it began to show in the results. Now that they've won three of their last five games, he hopes the taste of victory will motivate his players to strive even harder for success as they approach an important stretch of district competition in January.
"Our guys are still learning. It's their first year with a new coach, so they're learning the system and building chemistry on the court with one another," Newsome said. "But I've been seeing the progress. The challenge has just been to get everyone to buy into what it takes to improve as a team and compete at a high level.
"After the win over Salem, it was like... "OK, let's see if we can do this again." Then the win over St. Stanislaus was like an eye-opener that showed us we were capable of playing really well against good teams. Now it's just about continuing to work hard and trusting the process with a new coach so we can keep getting better as a team."
On Thursday and Friday, the Trojans will travel right across the river to compete in the East Marion Holiday Tournament against East Marion, Columbia and Jeff Davis County. They'll have yet another opportunity for revenge in their first game of the tournament against the hosting Eagles, who defeated the Trojans in a 72-60 shootout earlier this month.
