UPDATE: West Marion lost to Seminary 50-44 Tuesday night, ending the Trojans' season.
The Wildcats and Trojans have two very different paths this week in the Region 8-3A tournament at Columbia, but the rivals produced an instant classic in the regular season finale Friday night at West Marion.
Columbia (7-14, 5-3), who has already secured a playoff berth, needed two overtimes to do it but outlasted West Marion (6-10, 1-7) 61-56 in a back-and-forth affair.
While the Wildcats are already in the playoffs and know they’ll be facing Tylertown Thursday night at 8:30, West Marion played Seminary (4-18, 1-7) in a do-or-die game Tuesday (results unavailable at press time) with a winner making the playoffs and the loser’s season coming to an end.
The Trojans beat Seminary 53-51 on their home floor Jan. 31 but lost to the Bulldogs 64-45 on the road Dec. 3 to open the season. With a win over Seminary, West Marion would play Jeff Davis County (18-8, 7-1) Thursday at 5:30.
Columbia raced out to a 28-14 halftime lead Friday night, but West Marion went on a 16-2 run in the third quarter to pull within four points going into the final quarter. The Trojans stayed with Columbia throughout the fourth quarter and made two free throws late to send the game to overtime.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 5-point lead in the first overtime session, but the Trojans once again answered with a 6-1 run to send it to double overtime. Columbia’s depth finally got the better of West Marion in the second overtime and pulled away for the win.
The Wildcats passed up some good looks from beyond the 3-point line Friday and instead tried to feed the ball down low. Head coach Charlie James said he would prefer they not pass up open shots despite being an inside-centric team.
“We passed up some we should take and then we took some that kind of hurt us in different spots in the game. We have been focusing on trying to play inside out, which is where most of our success has come from. But on the same token, we passed up some we should’ve taken,” he said.
DaQwan Jones led the Wildcats with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Josh Brown had 15 points and five steals. Jaheim Oatis narrowly missed out on a double-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks but suffered an injury that could prove detrimental for the Wildcats.
Columbia is hoping Oatis will be able to at least give it something against Tylertown Thursday after the big man twisted his ankle late Friday night. James said Monday Oatis was on crutches to try to give it time to rest.
“Our guard play is going to have to step up and play well. If Jaheim isn’t able to go, then we’re just going to have to go next man up like we’ve been dealing with all year,” he said. “It’s been one of those years, and the kids have responded.”
Prior to beating West Marion, the Wildcats went on road Feb. 4 and topped Seminary 57-46. Oatis had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Jones had a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 16 boards. Tyler Quinn added 10 points off the bench.
James said he likes the way the Wildcats are playing going into the tournament and winning their last two games is a nice confidence boost.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s always good to go into the district tournament with some wins,” he said. “I thought the guys really bounced back and played well after a tough loss and poor showing at Tylertown (Jan. 31).”
West Marion head coach Mark Stringer could not be reached for comment.
Pictured Above: Columbia's Jaheim Oatis blocks a layup attempt by West Marion's Qavonte Swanigan. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
