Bulldogs Prevail Over Hornets

By Clint Cox
The Marianna Bulldogs held off a pesky bunch of Hornets last Friday night in Cottondale and prevailed in a 59-50 victory. Marianna led the entire ball game though the Hornets battled hard right to the very end. Each time the Bulldogs would get a double digit lead the Hornets would mount a rally. But each time the Hornets pulled to within four to six points, the Bulldogs would respond to keep the Hornets from getting any closer.
Marianna took an early 16-6 lead before Cottondale’s Nick Jackson hit a 3 pointer to make it 16-9 at the end of the first quarter. Twice in the second quarter Cottondale cut the Bulldog lead to five points. And twice the Bulldogs responded to pull back ahead by double digits. The first half ended with Marianna leading 25-17. Again in the third quarter Cottondale cut it to five points at 29-24. Marianna then went on a 6-1 run to close out the quarter and lead 35-25. Terry Benbow’s 3 pointer and Jacob Herring’s free throw in the fourth quarter cut the Marianna lead to 41-37 with 5 ½ minutes to play. Marianna reeled off 6 points, including a 3 pointer from Tre Long to make it 48-39 with four minutes to play. Herring later cut the Bulldog lead to 6 points with a 3 pointer with just over a minute remaining. Marcus Humose got Cottondale to within 5 points with a free throw but that was a close as they would come. Long ended the night just before the buzzer with a slam dunk that brought the Marianna faithful to their feet.
Marianna was led by C.J. Blount with 21 points and Kruise Pinkins with 18. Long added 11 for the Bulldogs. Cottondale was led by Herring with 17 points and was followed by Drew Bellamy with 11 and Humose with 10.
Bulldog Head Coach Travis Blanton’s squad improved to 18-7 with the win and now readies for the district tournament. If the Bulldogs can record two more wins it would be another 20 win season for Blanton’s ‘Dogs. "Twenty wins is a goal that we set and if we can get that it would be an indication of a very successful season," Blanton commented. In Class 3A the powerhouse once again appears to be Pinecrest, which eliminated Marianna last year in Lakeland in the Semi-Finals. They are once again unbeaten but the Bulldogs have some work to do before they would get a chance for a rematch. That includes winning the district and then the first three rounds of the playoffs. Blanton is a wise coach and knows that his squad will take them one game at a time. The 2008-09 Bulldogs will lose just two seniors and the future for Bulldog basketball looks bright as once again they have a JV squad that posted 20 wins. (See related article on this page).