Bulldogs Ousted From State Tournament

By Clint Cox

Photo Caption:
Marianna’s Brandon Gibson brings the ball down the court during semi-final action in Lakeland. Photo by Lorie Nable

The Marianna Bulldogs ran up against a jugger nault of a team in the FHSAA Class 3A Semi-Finals in Lakeland last week and fell 77-57. The game pitted the #1 team in the state in Pine Crest and the #2 team in the Bulldogs. Pine Crest jumped out to an early lead and then held a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Marianna opened up with a bucket from Brandon Gibson to start the second quarter and narrowed the gap to 17-13. That was as close as the Bulldogs would get as Pine Crest responded with 9-2 run over the next few minutes to take a 26-15 lead midway through the second quarter. As hard as they tried, Marianna just could not get going against the very talented squad from Fort Lauderdale. By halftime the Bulldogs trailed 36-22.

Pine Crest hit the first six points to start the second half to take a 42-22. Late in the third quarter Marianna made a run and with back to back buckets from T.J. Spencer the Bulldogs cut the lead back to 16. Trailed 59-45 as the final quarter began the Bulldogs saw Pine Crest outscore them 6-1 to push the lead back up to 19 points. From there Pine Crest went on to post the 20 point victory over the Bulldogs.

Marianna was led by Spencer and Josh Jones who each hit 12 points. Gibson followed with 9 points and C.J. Blount hit 8. Marianna finished the season with a record of 26-4. Head Coach Travis Blanton had nothing but praise for his squad and their opponent. "Our kids played hard but Pine Crest is very good. They may be the best team in the state, regardless of classifications. But we’ve had a good season and I think it is another step in the right direction for our program," Blanton said.