Boys Bring Home Three District Titles; Four Teams Headed To Playoffs

By Clint Cox

Not to be outdone by the girls last week (three district championships) Jackson County boy’s varsity basketball squads won three district titles last Saturday night and will advance in the playoffs. All four of the teams will be in FHSAA Regional Quarter-Final Action on Thursday (2/19/09) at 7 pm.

In Class 1A District Two action in Malone the Graceville Tigers edged the Malone Tigers 57-56 for the championship. Malone led most of the first half including a 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 27-22 lead at the half. But Graceville rallied in the second half, outscoring Malone 14-9 in the third quarter to tie the game at 36-36 going into the final quarter. In a nip and tuck affair, Graceville prevailed by one point. A pair of Dozier’s led Graceville as Cameron Dozier had 18 points and C.J. Dozier had 12 points. Craig Myrick also added 14 points for Graceville. Malone was led by T.J. Smith with 26 points.

Both squads had advanced to the championship game with lopsided wins on Friday night. Graceville beat Bethlehem 77-42 while Malone beat Poplar Springs 72-33. In first round playoff action Graceville will host Laurel Hill while Malone will travel to Paxon.

In Class 2A District Two Action in Sneads the Cottondale Hornets defeated Bozeman 47-33 to capture the district title. Cottondale led by 3 points at the half and then 6 points at the end of the third quarter. They broke open a close game in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Bucks 22-14 to take home the 14 point victory. Marcus Humose led the way with 16 points while Jacob Herring added 11. Cottondale (17-10) will play host to Freeport (15-12) in round one action.

Cottondale had advanced to the championship game by eliminating the Sneads Pirates 62-46 on Friday night. Sneads jumped out to an early 9-0 lead but Cottondale battled back to trail by one at the end of the first quarter. The lead changed hands throughout the second quarter but the Hornets took a 27-25 lead into the locker room at the half. The game was tied at 31-31 in the third quarter when the Hornets went on a run. Drew Bellamy and Humose got hot and when the smoke cleared the Hornets led 44-36 going into the final quarter. Sneads continued to fight but the Hornets held them off to end the Pirates season. Humose led the way with 25 points while Herring followed with 11 and Bellamy with 10. Sneads, which finished the season 15-11, was led by Sherrick Williams with 16, Terrence Green with 9 and Justin Neel with 8.

In Class 3A District Two action the Marianna Bulldogs entered the district tournament as the number one seed and thus had an automatic bid in the championship game. Chipley downed Holmes County on Friday night and then squared off against the Bulldogs on Saturday. In a close contest Marianna hung on to win by a score of 49-46. Marianna trailed by four points late in the game when R.J. Bowers hit a 3 pointer to spark the ‘Dogs to victory. Marianna was led by Kruize Pinkins with 18 points and Tre Long with 11. The Bulldogs (19-7) will next play host to South Walton (19-8) in first round action.