Knights surprise Commanders

On Friday night at the Roby Dome, the Marion County Knights varsity boys’ basketball team picked up their first win of the season, defeating the border rivals of Washington County by a score of 52-30.
In Head Coach Anthony Epps’ first game, the Knights came out on fire and never looked back. Senior guard Josh Brockman paved the way for the Knight victory with a 29-point explosion.  
The locals jumped out to a surprising 14-1 lead in the first quarter by using suffocating defensive pressure and sharp shooting by Brockman and junior Carlos Litsey. Up until 2:15 remaining in the period, Washington County had only managed one point. They were only able to collect one additional field goal in the frame, with a first quarter score of 14-3.  
Brockman continued his hot streak, pouring in 10 of Marion County’s 12 points in the second quarter. The Commanders were held to two field goals and two free throws in the frame, leaving them with a mere nine points at the half.  Brockman’s three-point goal with four seconds left gave the Knights a 26-9 halftime advantage.
In the third period, the locals seemed to lose a little steam, only outscoring their opponent by three points. Despite some miscues, the Knights were able to keep the Commanders in check. However, at the end of the third frame, Marion County was still in control, with a score of 40-20.
Washington County started out the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run that was quickly answered by an 8-0 spurt by the local team. The Commanders’ four turnovers in the frame prevented them from drawing any closer to the Knights. Marion County ended up winning the game by 22 points, with a final score of 52-30. The last time the Knights held an opponent to 30 points or less in a game was on Dec. 29, 2004 at home against Washington County in a 48-30 victory.
Marion County Head Coach Anthony Epps said that the Knights’ fourth quarter performance was much better than previous efforts.
“Josh Brockman is playing great”, Epps said, “and the team got up in the game and wanted to finish.”
Senior guard Josh Brockman has scored 50 points in the past two games. In the game on Dec. 7 at Adair County, he scored 21 points and on Dec. 10, Brockman poured in 29 points, a feat that doesn’t occur very often.

Jessica Veatch

John Southall dribbles past a Washington County defender.

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Marion             14   12   14   12 - 52
Washington      3    6    11   10 - 30
Marion County (1-2): Josh Brockman 29, Carlos Litsey 12, Chuckie Elder 6, Patrick Gribbins 3, Satchel Tatum 2
Washington County (1-2): Will Purdom 18, Connor Riney 5, Kyle Curtsinger 2, Alex Marshall 2, Ben Simms 1, Seth Mattingly 1, Tyler Coulter 1

Lose to Adair County...
The Knights traveled to Columbia on Tuesday of last week to face the Adair County Indians. Despite a valiant comeback, the Knights came up short by six points in a 61-55 loss. On two occasions in the second quarter, the Knights trailed by 18 points, but fought back to cut the deficit to two points with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter. The Knights couldn’t contain junior guard Kyle Young, a highly ranked player in the district, as he poured in 26 points for the homestanding Indians. Josh Brockman led the way for the Knights with 21 points, 20 of which came in the second half.

Marion           7    13    21    14 - 55
Adair            18    14    14    15 - 61

Marion County (0-2) Josh Brockman 21, Kendrick Knopp 9, John Southall 8, Deshawn Douglas 6, Chuckie Elder 5, Patrick Gribbins 3, Carlos Litsey 2, Vincent Collins 1

Adair County (2-1) Kyle Young 26, Jon Hansel 12, Jeremy Franklin 8, Matt Fudge 6, Trey Grider 6, Justin Reeder 3