The regular season has come to an end for East Marion basketball and both the Eagles (19-3, 8-0) and Lady Eagles (14-8, 8-0) know exactly what they need to accomplish going forward.
East Marion is the host school for the Class 1A Region 8 district tournaments, which began Tuesday and concludes Friday, and both teams have to win their next four games to reach the Mississippi Coliseum — two to be crowned district champs and two to reach the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
Having gone undefeated in district play, both have a very realistic chance of accomplishing the first half. Though the goal year in and year out has always been to win district, this year bringing home the crown has a little extra meaning.
“The district championship carries a lot of weight because you don’t travel until you make it to Jackson if you’re a No. 1 seed,” head coach Calvin Brown explained. “Two home games get you to Jackson under this new format. That’s big and so much different from the old North/South State Tournament.”
The change comes when teams reach the quarterfinals. In previous years, the round was played at either of the opponents’ home gyms. Now the round, along with the semifinals and championship, will take place at the Coliseum.
Brown said that while the pressure is now at its highest, there is no special message to give his teams. It’s going to be the same messages reiterated since the beginning of the season.
“One is to continue to fight off the disease of ‘me.’ We don’t ever want to get an individual or self-serving agenda,” he said. “That’s the hardest thing to fight as a teenager, especially with the attention that comes with (winning). The more of a following we gain, we have to stay prepared and focused on the core principles and values we’ve tried to lean on that put us in this position.”
Both squads are set to take on the winner between Tuesday’s matchups between Resurrection Catholic and Salem Thursday night. With wins Thursday, they would then take on the winner between Lumberton and Sacred Heart on Friday in the district championship games.
“We’re confident, but I have enough experience to know not to be over confident,” Brown said. “Once you’ve played a team twice and have two films, you know two or three things that don’t work so you have to be prepared for whatever a team will throw at us to try to put us in a different position.”
Tipoff for the girls games both nights will be at 7 and the boys games will tip off at 8:30.
To close out the regular season last Tuesday night on the road, the East Marion boys team ended its district slate in similar fashion to nearly every other district game — with a dominant victory. The Eagles controlled Salem wire to wire for a 67-25 win as Flenard McLin led the way with 14 points.
John Rawls added 12 points and seven rebounds, Caleb Rawls chipped in 12 points and five rebounds and Vashon Sims stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Pictured Above: Jordan Howard flies through Sacred Heart's defense for a layup. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
