Although school wasn’t in session last week, it was still a busy week on the hardwood for Marion County schools as Columbia Academy hosted its holiday tournament and East Marion and Columbia played in out-of-town tournaments.
Columbia
The Wildcats began play in the Hattiesburg Tournament against the host Tigers, but it was almost as if only one Columbia player made the trip for the 73-47 loss.
TJ Monroe was his usual superb self, scoring a game-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, but he got little help from his teammates on the offensive end. Jordan Aaron was second in scoring with seven points, followed by Jaheim Oatis with six and Daquan Ball with five.
Monroe got a lot more help Friday against Charleston as the Wildcats held on late for a 64-59 win.
Darius Stewart, a 6-foot-2 freshman who had scored only six points all season going into the game, matched Monroe’s scoring output with both scoring 14 points in the victory, while Monroe also hauled in 10 rebounds for a double-double. Javen Moses added 10 points and Oatis chipped in nine, both from the bench, while Nick Averett made three buckets for eight points.
In Columbia’s final game of the tournament, the Wildcats struggled to keep pace with Brandon, which turned its 11-point halftime lead into a 60-43 victory to drop the Wildcats to 4-8 on the season.
Monroe once again led the Wildcats with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting with six boards and three assists, while the rest of the team shot just 8-of-24 (33 percent) from the field. Averett had eight points and three assists, while Oatis and Moses both had six points. Oatis also hauled in eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
Columbia will make the short trip to Foxworth Friday night to take on West Marion (4-4), which hasn’t played since Dec. 15, with tipoff scheduled for 7.
East Marion
Though East Marion opted to only participate in two days of the three-day McComb Holiday Tournament, the Eagles dominated in both of their showings to improve to 10-2 and increase their winning streak to six games.
The Eagles got off to a fast start Thursday night against Amite County, racing out to a 35-14 halftime lead before cruising to a 60-38 win over the Trojans.
Flenard McLin’s silky jumper helped him pace the Eagles with 15 points, but it was the overall play of John Rawls, Caleb Rawls and Vashon Sims that made the biggest impact. John Rawls, who also led the team with four assists, had another dominant performance on the interior with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks, while Caleb Rawls had 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Sims had 10 points and nine boards.
Friday’s matchup with Wilkinson County was a similar story as the Eagles came out the gate strong, leading 49-14 at halftime en route to a dominant 66-35 win.
John Rawls was near perfect from the field, shooting 8-of-9 to score a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks. Sims had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Caleb Rawls added nine points and three rebounds, but this time it was the overall play of McLin that made the biggest impact. While McLin made just two shots from the field — both from behind the arc — he made 6-of-7 free throws for 12 points, dished out five assists and had four steals. Jordan Howard was also busy on the defensive end with four steals of his own to go along with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
East Marion will be in Wiggins Friday night to take on a talented Stone squad that is 13-3 this season. Tipoff is at 7:30.
Columbia Academy
Columbia Academy hoped for better results in its own holiday tournament last weekend, losing two of three to drop to 5-7 on the season.
The Cougars lost a close one Thursday night to North Pike, 56-49, after taking a two-point, 44-42 lead into the fourth quarter. Standout sophomore Alijah Martin was the difference maker for North Pike, torching the Cougars for 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Columbia Academy turned things around Friday night with a convincing 68-39 over East Rankin, but failed in its attempt to hoist the championship trophy Saturday night as the Cougars lost to Brookhaven Academy 47-33. Had the Cougars won against Brookhaven, it would have created a three-team tie with the winner decided by tiebreakers, but Saturday’s contest allowed Brookhaven to win it outright.
The Cougars will return to the court Thursday night, taking on Simpson Academy on the road in Magee.
Tipoff is expected to be at 7:30 p.m.
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy’s Ras Pace brings the ball upcourt in transition against Brookhaven Academy Saturday during CA’s holiday tournament. | Photo by Benjamen Sanford
