Eagles advance to Big House for 1st time in 3 decades
The East Marion Eagles (23-3) stamped their ticket to the Mississippi Coliseum for the first time since 1984 Friday night in front of a raucous home crowd.
East Marion reached the “elite eight” by beating Stringer 72-55 and is slated to do battle Thursday morning in Jackson with Okolona (28-2), which is considered by many as the top team in 1A.
While matching up with the Chieftains at 10:30 will be no easy task, East Marion head coach Calvin Brown said the Eagles first challenge will be handling the microscope that comes with playing in the Coliseum.
“Before we ever get to (Okolona) we have to handle the lights because we haven’t been in the Coliseum and haven’t shot in an open space arena with no background,” he said. “We have to handle that first, which I think this team will. It’s just in their identity to meet every challenge.”
The Chieftains feature three players who are considered among the top 30 collegiate prospects in their respective classes — 6-foot-5 wing Cameron Smith, 6-foot-7 center Ladarrius Spears and 5-foot-9 point guard Jacorrius Stanfield — and can match the Eagles biggest strengths.
“We just have to match their intensity,” Brown said. “Personnel wise we’re both very talented, so it might come down to execution, shot making and decision making in clutch time.”
The Chieftains play like a mirror image of the Eagles, using their length and athleticism to trap ball handlers, force turnovers and convert them into easy shots in the paint. But Brown believes the Eagles can handle Okolona’s tough half-court traps.
“This team has responded to every single challenge and just have that special quality about them,” he said. “Competition brings out the best of them.”
If Brown’s comparison for the Eagles second-round opponent, the Stringer Red Devils, is any indication of sizing up the opposition, then East Marion is good hands. He turned out to be spot on and made the Eagles prepared for Stringer’s unique attack.
Heading into the Friday night home matchup, Brown said Stringer reminded him of a more athletic Sacred Heart, and he was quite right. The Red Devils leaned heavily on three-pointers, much like the Crusaders, and featured a unique weapon as their primary scorer in Haden Boyd. Boyd, whose exact height is unavailable but appears about 6-foot-4 to the naked eye, played as the Red Devils de facto center but danced around the perimeter off ball screens and launched threes nearly every time the ball reached his hands.
The Eagles center, meanwhile, 6-foot-8 junior John Rawls, typically plays as the last line of defense, protecting the rim against slashers attempting to score in the paint. Against Stringer, however, Rawls was matched up one-on-one with Boyd and excelled at keeping him from getting off clean looks and consistently contested every shot the versatile Red Devils big man took.
Brown said he was extremely proud of Rawls stepping up to the tough defensive assignment.
“John knew after we went over the scouting report what his responsibilities were. Our other option was to go small if he wasn’t able to keep his guy in front of him and contest shots, but he did a great job keeping himself on the floor without fouling and keeping (Boyd) out of his comfort zone,” he said. “Not just him but I thought we were in their air space and (Stringer) wasn’t comfortable shooting long-range shots. They’ve had a game this year where they made upwards of 15 threes. At the very least we wanted to cut that in half, and we did a little better than that.”
Not only did Rawls more than handle his defensive assignment, but he scored a game-high 18 points with varying hook shots and acrobatic layups in the post, as well as taking advantage of second-chance opportunities off offensive rebounds.
The Eagles, as they have all season against good opponents, struggled to get their offense, which is typically fueled by fast-break opportunities and drives to the rim, going early in the game. But Ja’Mario Marsalis has a knack for keeping East Marion’s offense afloat until their length, athleticism and depth can take over and jumpstarted the Eagles offense with two quick threes right out of the gate and scored all nine of his points on three 3-pointers in the first quarter.
“Having that perimeter threat that stretches the defense and always has to be accounted for gives us space to slash, drive and get to the basket more,” Brown said. “Also, when (defenders) aren’t connected it gives us an opportunity to get John on the block one-on-one. Most of the time they’re connected with a guy on the back and guy on his lap, so they have to decide if they want to run out to Rio (Marsalis) or leave guys one-on-one off the bounce for people like (Flenard McLin), Jordan (Howard) and Vashon (Sims) — our slashers and finishers.”
Caleb Rawls, who had 11 points, Howard and Sims, who both chipped in 10, and Devin Daniels, who added seven off the bench, each feasted off drives in the paint, especially in the second half.
If the Eagles want to continue their historic run and reach heights unseen since the early 1980s, they will need a similar performance from their entire rotation in Jackson.
Pictured Above: Vashon Sims soars for a left-handed, rim-rattling dunk against Stringer. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
