The Dillon Wildcats fell 37-35 to the Marlboro County Bulldogs in the final seconds of Monday’s boys’ basketball game in Bennettsville.

The Wildcats got off to a 13-9 lead but Marlboro outscored Dillon 11-6 in the second to carry a narrow 20-19 lead into the half. Dillon once again took control in the third, outscoring the Bulldogs 11-4 for a 30-24 lead. But the Bulldogs mounted a comeback in the fourth to tie things up 35-35, and with 30 seconds left in the game, Marlboro’s Demetrius Knox sank two free throws to claim the 37-35 win.

Knox led Marlboro County with a game-high 12 points and Tyreek Blair added 10 for the Bulldogs. Andre Underwood scored six, London Johnson added three, and Jalon Johnson and Travis McRae each earned two points and Raheem Ward and Hallis Larkins each added one.

Julius Saunders led Dillon with nine points, and Jay Bethea, Breon Page, Anthony Blue, and Olajuwan Fenton each scored five. Shaqui Cabbagestalk scored four points and Gabriel Salmon added two for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats are now 5-4 in the regular season while Marlboro County improves to 4-2 overall.
In girls’ action, the Lady Wildcats fell to Marlboro 53-44. The Lady Cats are now 5-3 overall on the season.

Dillon will host Latta tonight at 6:00 p.m. for boys’ and girls’ basketball action. It will be the final game before the holidays for both teams.