Columbia’s injury-plagued season came to an end in first round of the Class 3A playoffs Tuesday night as a poor first quarter proved too much for the Wildcats to come back from.
Columbia (8-16) was outscored 29-11 in the opening stanza and ended up losing to Yazoo County 97-62.
The Wildcats’ season ends with a bit of an asterisk as they lost their best wing, Darius Stewart, to a broken leg the fourth game of the season then center Jaheim Oatis in the regular season finale.
Marlic Smith, filling in for Oatis, had by far his best game in a Wildcat uniform, scoring 22 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting night and blocking three shots.
“He really came on and played really well for us inside,” head coach Charlie James said. “With the injuries that we’ve had, Marlic really stepped up and filled the void for us. I’m really looking forward to great things from him next year.”
DaQwan Jones, who also had five board and five assists, added 12 points on just seven shot attempts. Tyler Quinn chipped in nine points and Chandler Carver eight. Josh Brown, who had been playing his best ball of late, was held to just one point on one shot attempt and turned it over seven times against four assists. Three of the turnovers came off charge calls.
“They did a great job of cutting him off. He had done a great job all year using his quickness and getting to the basket, but they did a great job scouting him and making sure they cut him off,” James said. “At the same time when he gets in that position, he needs to pull off and find a dump off (pass). But as far as guard play, he was the only one who wasn’t afraid of the pressure.”
As a team, the Wildcats committed a season-worst 28 turnovers with the Panthers utilizing a 2-2-1 run-and-jump trap defense.
“We shot the ball pretty well to be on their floor, but the thing that got us was the multiple turnovers. They were playing at home, and you have to tip your hat to them because they hit some unbelievable shots and got the crowd into it. They were a good team,” James said. “We competed well for three-and-a-half quarters, but we weren’t able to match the scoring from the turnovers.”
Jones and Ziquae Amos are the only two rotation players out of 10 that are graduating, and James said the Wildcats have some developing to do to compete on the state level but he likes the pieces that are returning. With Stewart and Oatis projected back and joining Brown, Smith, Quinn, Carver, Peyton Anderson and Keion Jackson, Columbia could compete for the Region 8-3A crown next season.
Pictured Above: Wildcats sophomore Marlic Smith, who had career highs in both points (22) and blocks (3) Tuesday at Yazoo County, swats away a shot. | Photo Courtesy of Yazoo Herald
