Bulldogs Bounced From Playoffs By Raiders

By Clint Cox
The Marianna Bulldogs knew coming in that the Rickards Raiders were the real deal. Unbeaten this season, Tallahassee Rickards was ranked in the nation’s top 25 high school teams by some polls. But after the Bulldogs manhandled Rickard’s district rival East Gadsden last Thursday night hopes were high that Marianna could send the Raiders packing in the Class 3A Regional Semi-Finals. The Bulldogs hung close with the Raiders for 19 of the game’s 32 minutes. But in the final 13 minutes of the contest Rickards pulled away for a 66-44 victory. Rickards now advances to the Regional Finals where they will host Jacksonville Ribault on Saturday.

The Dog House was packed and was standing room only after the doors were locked due to the facility reaching maximum capacity. The Bulldogs fed off that capacity crowd and jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Kruize Pinkins, Tre Long and Kenall Leeks all hit buckets. But Rickards battled back to tie the game at 6-6. Marianna didn’t fold though as the Raiders began to rally. Marianna went on a 7-2 run to close the quarter and get the Bulldog faithful on their feet. Pinkins paced the Bulldogs with 5 points in the quarter while Long added 4.

In the second quarter Rickards started heating up from the outside, quickly hitting a three pointer to cut the Bulldog lead to 2 points. Another three pointer from the Raiders and they had their first lead of the game. Marianna struggled to start the second quarter, going scoreless for the first 2 ½ minutes. Tre Jackson finally ended the scoring drought with a free throw to tie the game at 14-14. Rickards reeled off 6 unanswered points before Long got the Bulldogs back on the scoreboard with a bucket. But midway through the quarter Pinkins picked up his second foul and had to leave the game. Rickards quickly took advantage of the big man’s abscense and pushed their lead to 27-16 with a couple of three pointers. Again Marianna didn’t fold the tent and battled back to get within 5 points at the half time break.

Marianna came out to start the second half by cutting into the Raider’s lead. A basket by Pinkins was followed by a basket and free throw from R.J. Bowers. With just over five minutes left in the third quarter Marianna trailed by just one point. Rickards was up 29-28 when things began to turn for the worse for the Bullogs. The Raiders knocked down a three pointer and went on a 7-1 run to take a 36-29 lead. They finished the third quarter outscoring Marianna 8-4 and took a 44-33 lead into the final quarter. They quickly pushed that lead to 48-33 and from there they proved why they are unbeaten on the season. When the dust settled on the game Rickards had outscored Marianna 39-21 in the second half.

Marianna finished the season with a record of 25-4 and were led in scoring by Long and Pinkins who combined for 40 of Marianna’s 44 points. Long led with 25 points and Pinkins followed with 15.