By Clint Cox
Photo Caption:
Derrian Bell, #3, of Marianna drives to the basket in action earlier this season. File Photo by Clint Cox /Times
Derrian Bell, #3, of Marianna drives to the basket in action earlier this season. File Photo by Clint Cox /Times
The FHSAA boy’s basketball playoffs continued this past week with all five of the county’s teams taking part in round one of the playoffs. Round on, played last Thursday night, claimed two county teams as victims while three of the teams advanced to round two. Those three teams hit the floor this past Tuesday night for their respective Regional Semi-Finals. When the dust had settled on round two the county had 1 team remaining in the playoffs
In Class 1A action both Graceville and Malone advanced to round one of the playoffs with Graceville advancing as the district champion. As such Graceville played host to Laurel Hill and came away with a come from behind 55-51 win over the Hobos. Graceville rallied from being down by 21 points and were led by J. J. Laster and Keon Snell with 14 points each. Malone found the going rougher as the district runner up, forcing them to travel to Paxton to take on the Bobcats. In that contest Malone fell 77-56 and were eliminated from the playoffs. They finished the season with a 12-15 record. That set up a Tuesday night semi-final contest of Graceville at Paxton. In that contest the Graceville fell to the Bobcats by a score of 45-40. Graceville finishes the season with a record of 13-13.
In class 2A the county’s two teams advanced as Sneads was the district champ and Cottondale was the runner up. The Pirates played host to the Gators from Baker and posted a 62-48 victory. Dontavious Walker led the Pirates with 17 points and freshman Terrence Pittman followed with 15 points, all from beyond the 3 point line. Cottondale traveled to Pensacola to take on Pensacola Christian. Cottondale led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter but were tied 25-25 at the half. From there Pensacola went on to notch a 57-52 win. Cottondale’s season came to a close with a record of 10-15. The Pirates of Sneads then were forced to sail to Pensacola on Tuesday to take on that same Pensacola Christian squad. Pensacola Christian prevailed in that contest with a 59-46 win over the Pirates. Sneads wrapped up their season with a record of 17-9.
The Marianna Bulldogs were the county’s Class 3A representative and as district champs they played host to Walton County last Thursday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-1 lead and never looked back, going on to rack up a 59-35 win. T.J. Spencer led with 15 points while Derrien Bell and C.J. Blount followed with 11 points each. That advanced the Bulldogs to round two and a trip to Pensacola to take on Pensacola Catholic. In a low scoring contest Marianna led 7-4 at the end of the first quarter but trailed 16-15 at the half. Going into the final quarter Marianna trailed 29-23 but they then turned up the defensive intensity and came back to take a 30-29 lead. From there the Bulldogs held on for a thrilling 38-35 win as the Crusaders missed a three point shot as time expired. T.J. Spencer and Brandon Gibson led the Bulldogs with 12 points each. Marianna, ranked #2 in the state, improved to 25-3 on the season and will host Florida High on Saturday night in the Region 1 Finals. The winner advances to Lakeland the following week for the Final Four.
In Class 1A action both Graceville and Malone advanced to round one of the playoffs with Graceville advancing as the district champion. As such Graceville played host to Laurel Hill and came away with a come from behind 55-51 win over the Hobos. Graceville rallied from being down by 21 points and were led by J. J. Laster and Keon Snell with 14 points each. Malone found the going rougher as the district runner up, forcing them to travel to Paxton to take on the Bobcats. In that contest Malone fell 77-56 and were eliminated from the playoffs. They finished the season with a 12-15 record. That set up a Tuesday night semi-final contest of Graceville at Paxton. In that contest the Graceville fell to the Bobcats by a score of 45-40. Graceville finishes the season with a record of 13-13.
In class 2A the county’s two teams advanced as Sneads was the district champ and Cottondale was the runner up. The Pirates played host to the Gators from Baker and posted a 62-48 victory. Dontavious Walker led the Pirates with 17 points and freshman Terrence Pittman followed with 15 points, all from beyond the 3 point line. Cottondale traveled to Pensacola to take on Pensacola Christian. Cottondale led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter but were tied 25-25 at the half. From there Pensacola went on to notch a 57-52 win. Cottondale’s season came to a close with a record of 10-15. The Pirates of Sneads then were forced to sail to Pensacola on Tuesday to take on that same Pensacola Christian squad. Pensacola Christian prevailed in that contest with a 59-46 win over the Pirates. Sneads wrapped up their season with a record of 17-9.
The Marianna Bulldogs were the county’s Class 3A representative and as district champs they played host to Walton County last Thursday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-1 lead and never looked back, going on to rack up a 59-35 win. T.J. Spencer led with 15 points while Derrien Bell and C.J. Blount followed with 11 points each. That advanced the Bulldogs to round two and a trip to Pensacola to take on Pensacola Catholic. In a low scoring contest Marianna led 7-4 at the end of the first quarter but trailed 16-15 at the half. Going into the final quarter Marianna trailed 29-23 but they then turned up the defensive intensity and came back to take a 30-29 lead. From there the Bulldogs held on for a thrilling 38-35 win as the Crusaders missed a three point shot as time expired. T.J. Spencer and Brandon Gibson led the Bulldogs with 12 points each. Marianna, ranked #2 in the state, improved to 25-3 on the season and will host Florida High on Saturday night in the Region 1 Finals. The winner advances to Lakeland the following week for the Final Four.
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