Strong second half leads to Knights’ victory over Dragons

The Marion County Knights played the Green County Dragons on Tuesday of last week at the Roby Dome. After the first quarter, the Knights trailed by two points due in large part to streaky shooting by Green County early on. The Knights and Dragons were evenly matched throughout the frame, and baskets were traded evenly until the score was 12-10 with Green County ahead.
The second quarter was a low scoring quarter, with neither team reaching double digits. The game was close during the second period, with neither team leading by more than four points. Marion County’s defensive pressure picked up toward the end of the frame, ending a Dragon mini run. The score was knotted up at 19 when the second quarter ended.
The remainder of the game belonged to the locals. Marion County jumped out to a quick lead midway through the third quarter and never looked back. The Knights were able to outscore the visitors by 10 points in this frame, which gave them an advantage that they would not relinquish. John Southall poured in 10 of his game high 18 points in the third frame that ended with Marion County leading by 10 points at 37-27.
Green County was never able to mount any type of comeback and the game was never in doubt as the fourth quarter progressed. The Knight lead kept increasing until it reached 20 points. The locals shot 13 free throws in the period, making seven of them, and John Southall scored his remaining eight points in the frame. The win moves the Knights’ season record to 2-2, with a final score of 54-37.
According to Head Coach Anthony Epps, he was proud of his team’s effort in the second half.
“I liked the way the team came out in the second half of the game and really played hard,” he said. “We kind of went through the motions in the first half, and went into halftime tied at 19.”
However, Epps mentioned two areas that the team needed to improve on.
“One of the main areas that we need to improve on is team rebounding,” he said. “We are giving up way too many second chance opportunities. With our lack of size, we must have all five guys going to the defensive boards.”
Epps also said that valuing the basketball was a concern.
“Our main ball handlers are committing too many turnovers, which is taking offensive possessions away from us,” he said.

Marion County   10  9  18  17 - 54
Green County      12  7   8  10 - 37
Marion County (2-2): John Southall 18, Deshawn Douglas 10, Josh Brockman 9, Patrick Gribbins 5, Carlos Litsey 4, Jared Vaughn 3, Chuckie Elder 3, Brandon Sandusky 2
Green County (0-5): Skyler Shively 17, Tanner Durrett 7, Grayson Bills 6, Cody Houchens 4, Levi Ratliff 3