Marion knocks off unbeaten Mullins

The third time was a charm for the Marion Swamp Foxes. Losing twice in December to cross-town rival Mullins, the team pulled off a 50-45 victory at the Fox Den Tuesday night to knock off an opponent that won 17 consecutive games to start the season. The victory also gives Marion a leg up in the Region 8-2A championship race, as the Foxes sit in first place.

“They stepped up big,” Marion coach John Washington said. “It was a total team effort, everybody chipped-in and I can’t say enough about them.”

Mullins took an 11-10 lead to end the first quarter. However, the formidable “Towers of Power” duo of Marqi McKelvy and Kevin Rowell helped the team take a 26-19 advantage at halftime. The two 6-foot-7 post players led Marion (13-6, 5-0) with 12 points each. McKelvy also finished with 17 rebounds.

The Auctioneers (18-1, 5-1) rallied in the third quarter with a 15-4 run, fueled by their intense pressure defense and a solid all around performance from senior guard Johnathan Jenkins, who finished with a game-high 16 points.

Mullins held a 40-37 lead with 2:30 remaining and then Marion’s duo took over.

Rowell came up with an offensive rebound and put-back to cut the deficit to a single point, followed by an assist in transition from Keyonta Foxworth to McKelvy, regaining the lead 41-40. The home crowed erupted as Marion continued its run with another basket from Rowell and the foul. A layup on the break from Foxworth soon followed, putting Marion in the driver’s seat heading towards the final buzzer.

“We always want to make sure we keep our composure. I thought last year that was one of the things we were weak at,” Washington said. “We have a lot of juniors but I think they’ve matured.” Washington said three losses suffered during the Pepsi Carolina Classic might’ve helped. “It taught us that we are a good team, we played a lot of close games there that we could win,” he said. “We just had to keep it together down the stretch and I think they did in this one.”

The past two seasons, the teams split with each winning at home, resulting in a third game to determine playoff seeding. The Auctioneers won both.

“There’s nothing like giving Mullins their first loss, especially here at home,” Rowell said. “We know that we’ve been tying for the region so this year we wanted to get the big win at home and then go to Mullins in fight because it’s been a long time since we’ve won there.”

Rowell said his coach came up with a good gameplan and the squad played together to execute.  

Lady Swamp Foxes hold stiff challenge from Mullins

Marion sophomore sensation Tyshanna Lester scored a game-high 32 points for the Lady Swamp Foxes in a 64-56 victory over the Lady Auctioneers. Marion outscored Mullins 40-28 in the second half to run its record to 12-1 overall and 5-0 in Region 8-2A.

“At the half I told my kids champions are made during adversity. We were down at the half, didn’t play our very best basketball but in the second half our kids dug down,” Sturkey said.

Mullins held a 38-28 lead at the 4:10 mark in the third quarter. However, LaQuasha Williams nailed two free throws to end the quarter and give the Lady Swamp Foxes a 41-40 lead.

The two teams fought even for most of the final quarter, with Marion holding a slim 54-52 advantage with 2:32 remaining. It took clutch free throw shooting from Washington and Lester to seal the deal in the end.

Niesha Godfrey led Mullins with 15 points.

“That’s a good basketball team, I can’t take anything away from them, Mullins is good basketball that’s well-coached and well prepared today,” Sturkey said.

 Marion willl host Loris Friday night. Mullins will welcome Waccamaw.

Despite losing to all state players from last season, Sturkey said his team has a don’t quit attitude, maintaining their grasp on the top spot in the region. “They give 110 percent,” he said. “We had kids that stayed on the bench stayed into the game the entire time and encouraged their teammates. They might’ve not have had a chance to play but were still in the game.

MULLINS (56)

Brittany McDonald 1, Briana Bentley 7, Neisha Godfrey 15, Brittany Rowell 12, Jaleah Lesane 3, Jaquesha Wright 12, Cassie Phillips 6.

MARION (64)

Shatoria Dunkin 3, Krystal Washington 18, Tyshanna Lester 32, LaQuasha Williams 5.

MULLINS (45)

Darnell Coleman 12, Jonthan Jenkins 16, Chris Harley 8, Alex Brown 9.

MARION (50)

Keyonta Foxworth 8, DJ Kelly 8, Laron Adams 1, Marqi McKelvy 12, Kevin Rowell 12, Yamon Rowell 2, Michael Outlaw 2, Devontay Emmanuel 5.