Bulldogs have their day at Darlington

DARLINGTON — For much of Friday night’s Region 6-3A opener between Marlboro County and host Darlington, it was impossible to determine who was winning based on the crowd response.

Though Darlington led for much of the game, the Falcon crowd resembled more of a church service than a boys basketball game. Marlboro County’s fans, on the other hand, resembled a rock concert.
Spurred on by their crowd, the Bulldogs got 21 second-half points from Darell Dease en route to a 59-55 victory over the Falcons.

“Our fans really support us,” Marlboro County coach James Pate said. “There isn’t much to do in Bennettsville, so they come out to watch the kids play and the team fed off that.”

With less than a minute remaining in the fourth period and the Falcons trailing 52-51, Darlington had several chances to take the lead but missed four times from within three feet of the basket.

Thomas made them pay by corralling the rebound and streaking coast-to-coast for a layup with a foul attached. The senior converted the three-point play to give the Bulldogs (8-2 overall, 1-0 in region) a 55-51 advantage with 33.5 seconds left.

Thomas finished with eight points, and Trimane Quick added 13. Dease finished with 25 points to lead all scorers.

“(Dease) is a senior and he knows how to play,” Pate said. “He didn’t do much in the first half, but he found his game in the second half.

“When you go on the road against a team like Darlington, you have to play hard or you’re going to get blown out. Darell and the rest of the team did a good job hanging in there and getting us this win.”

A major factor in the Bulldogs’ win was their physical play on defense. Darlington’s Donnie James was harassed all night, and finished with 18 points. Torey Wright added 14.

“We did an outstanding job on (James) tonight,” Pate said. “Donnie knows all of our guys and he’s a great player. We figured a way to defend him.“

“Marlboro County’s got a tradition of playing physical basketball. Our players were up for the challenge, but we play in such a killer conference,” said Falcons coach Ken Howle, whose team fell to 7-3 overall and 0-1 in region play. “Donnie didn’t play well tonight.

“I felt he should have gotten to the line more than he did, but our guys played well regardless. He’ll be back and we’ll be back.”

Girls
Darlington 81, Marlboro County 46

The Falcons jumped on the Bulldogs (7-5, 0-1) early with a 26-8 first-quarter run and cruised to their first region win of the season.

Antionette McPhail and Kierra Patterson led five players in double figures for Darlington with 22 and 18 points, respectively. Sherria Jett nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.

Jazz Green added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jessica McCall added 11.

Despite the big win, Falcons coach Brian Rozelle stopped short of calling it a signature win.

“We’ve had 40-point wins before,” said Rozelle, whose team improved to 12-1 overall and 1-0 in conference. “Marlboro County will find a way to bite you in the butt if you’re not careful.

“We jumped on them early, and we didn’t let up.”