Bulldogs Sweep Tigers; Down Pirates

Clint Cox


Marianna pulled off the trifecta this past Friday night at the ‘Dog House as they sweep all three games from Malone, in local high school basketball action. The lid lifter, the girl’s game, turned out to be the closest game of the night as Marianna edged Malone by a score of 45-39. The Lady Bulldogs held a slim 8-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and then led by 3 at the half. The Lady Tigers hung close though and trailed 31-30 going into the fourth quarter. That final quarter proved to be the difference as Marianna outscored the Lady Tigers 14-9 to notch the 6 point victory. Sharhae Williams led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points while Samiqua Davies chipped in 8 points. Christina Wynn and Derrika Fitzpatrick both added 6 each for Marianna. The win over Malone, coupled with a Lady Bulldog win over Walton the night before improved Marianna to 10-4 on the season. Malone was led by Autumn Speigner with 14 points, Vanessa Olds with 12 and Shakira Smith with 9.

The varsity boys took the floor for the final game of the evening and Marianna beat their Jackson County rivals 68-56. The Bulldogs shot out the gates in hot fashion as they jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter. Malone did not manage a basket until the final minute of the quarter. Ladarius McElroy broke the drought and then helped the Tigers run off four more points to make it 16-6. But a 3 pointer by Tre Jackson at the buzzer gave the Bulldogs a 21-6 lead going into the second quarter. Marianna did not let up in the second quarter and Kendall Leeks hit a 3 pointer to make it a 29-7 lead with five minutes left in the half. Malone’s T.J. Smith and the Tiger gang finally heated up some, but not nearly enough to dig out of the big hole they had dug themselves. Malone trailed the Bulldogs 41-21 at the half.

The second half saw Leeks continue to pace the Bulldogs and McElroy and Smith pacing the Tigers. The third quarter was more evenly played with Marianna outscoring Malone 17-13 to take a 58-34 lead as the fourth quarter began. Malone took advantage of some Bulldog substitutions in the fourth quarter to lessen the blow but the damage had long been done. Marianna got a stellar performance from Leeks who finished with a game high of 26 points. Other Bulldogs in double figures included Tre’Jackson with 14 points and Tre Long with 12. McElroy had a hot night for Malone as he burned the nets for 24 points. Smith followed with 18 for the Tigers.

The sandwich lid game for the evening was the boy’s junior varsity contest and the Bulldogs captured a 47-24 win over the Tigers Qua Royster led the Pups with 13 points while Antonio Holmes and Devin Smith each hit 6 points for the Cubs. The win was special for Bulldog JV Coach Rico Williams as it was his 50th win in just his 3rd season as Head Coach.

Marianna followed that game up with a convincing win on Monday night over the visiting Pirates of Sneads. Marianna posted a 69-43 win over Sneads as Kruize Pinkins and Leeks led the way. Marianna took a 17-9 lead after one quarter and led 40-15 at the half. With the win Marianna improved to 13-2 while Sneads fell to 11-5. The Sneads loss came on the heels of a close 58-56 district win over Blountstown last Friday. Delvin Oliver led the Pirates in the win over Blountstown with 14 points.