The Latta Vikings edged the Marion Swamp Foxes 69-68 on Tuesday night in the boys basketball season opener in Marion.

Both teams added 14 points in the first quarter but Marion outscored Latta 22-15 in the second to lead 36-29 at the half. Latta closed the gap and took the lead with a 21-8 third quarter to put them ahead 50-44. Marion rallied to outscore Latta 24-19 in the fourth, but were still one point shy of tying the game.

Kartilus McFadden scored a game-high 19 points to lead Latta with Donell Stanley earning 13 and Jordan Sims scoring 10. Tyrell Sabb and Jordan Smith each added nine points, and R.J. McClam scored five with Quane Williams adding four.

Stanley also grabbed nine rebounds for Latta.

Terry Wiggins and DeAndre Foxworth each scored a team-high 14 points to lead Marion. Clinton Reaves and Deshaun Avant each scored eight; John Tyler added seven; Reggie Barnes, 6; Dominique Bennett, 4; Kevin Grant, 3; and Denzel Brown, 1.

The Latta boys start the season with a 1-0 record and also got a pre-season win over Marlboro County in the Thanksgiving Jamboree at Mullins High School. The Vikings took a 31-24 win over Marlboro in the exhibition.

Latta will next play at Mullins on Tuesday, December 10. The Vikings will host their first home games of the season on Tuesday, December 17, against Mullins, and Thursday, December 19, against Marion. Both games start at 6:00 p.m., so make plans to attend to support our local team!