Chris Chestnut
At the start of the week, Dillon was tied 7-1 in the region with Marion after defeating the Swamp Foxes 74-69 on February 1. Both teams claimed wins on Monday to remain tied, with Dillon defeating Loris 82-45 and Marion defeating Waccamaw 74-44.
On Wednesday, the Wildcats hosted Waccamaw and earned a 70-52 win while Marion claimed a 63-53 win over Mullins to maintain the region tie.
Dillon took a 17-9 lead in the first quarter but Waccamaw rallied for a 15-11 second to trail 28-24 at the half. But the Wildcats took a firm lead in the third as they outscored the Warriors 21-8 and they held off a Waccamaw rally 21-20 in the fourth to seal the win.
Jalik Bethea led all scorers with 19 points and Breon Page and Maurice Williams each earned 10 points to lead Dillon. Shaqui Cabbagestalk and Eri’Reon Hayes each added eight pints and Olajuwan Fenton and John Caulder each scored six, with Gabriel Salmon earning two and Julius Saunders adding one point in the win.
Waccamaw was led by A. Williams with 14 points and R. Ferrarro with 11. Gulley scored seven points; Dunne, 5; Dwyer, 4; M. Fisher, 4; J. Smalls, 3; and Fuller, 2.
Marion opened their game against Mullins with a 13-10 lead and led 31-28 at the half. Mullins tied things up 41-41 in the third, but Marion pulled ahead for the win with a 22-12 fourth quarter.
Marqui McKelvy led the Swamp Foxes with a game-high 21 points and Kevin Rowell added 15 with Terry Wiggins earning 11.
On Friday night, Marion and Dillon met at Loris to decide the region title, with the Swamp Foxes taking an 11-9 lead in the first. Dillon narrowly outscored Marion 20-19 in the second to trail by one point at 30-29 at the half. The Wildcats edged ahead in the third, outscoring Marion 11-9 for a 40-39 lead.
The Swamp Foxes kept pace with the Wildcats, going 17-16 in the fourth quarter to knot the score at 56-56, forcing the game into overtime. Dillon managed to pull ahead in the OT, outscoring Marion 13-7 to claim the 69-63 win and the Region 8-2A championship.
Jalik Bethea led the Wildcats with a game-high 25 points and Olajuwan Fenton added 17 points in the win. Avery McCall scored seven points and Anthony Blue and John Caulder each earned six with Shaqui Cabbagestalk and Eri’Reon Hayes each contributing two for Dillon.
Marqui McKelvy led Marion with 17 points and Jakarri Godbolt scored 15 with Kevin Rowell adding 11 points in the loss. Darryl Kelly and Terry Wiggins each scored eight points for the Swamp Foxes and Kenyatta Foxworth added four points for Marion.
Dillon’s record improved to 18-7 overall and 10-1 in Region 8-2A and Marion slipped to 18-6 overall and 9-2 in the region.
Both teams will begin the Class AA Lower State playoffs on Wednesday, February 13, at 7:00 p.m. Dillon will be hosting Region 7-2A’s fourth place Kingstree. Make plans to attend to support our local teams!
Marion will host Andrews on Wednesday night, while Mullins will travel to Lake City. Look for playoff updates in upcoming issues of THE DILLON HERALD and look for daily updates online at thedillonherald.com!
Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click images below to view at full size!
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