Marianna avoids defeat, empty stomach

MARIANNA 57, DIERKS 36

QUITMAN — Marianna, the top-ranked team in the Democrat-Gazette’s Class 2A rankings, didn’t have the stomach to do much more than it ended up doing in a 57-36 first-round victory over Dierks in the Class 2A boys state tournament at Quitman High School.

Marianna (28-4) needed some time to get in sync after making the nearly three-hour bus ride, with a stop at Western Sizzlin squeezed in.

“Some of the guys probably ate a little bit more than they should have,” Marianna Coach Emanuel Wade said.

Both teams struggled early, with Marianna leading 11-6 after one quarter and 25-9 at halftime.

The Trojans got into a better flow in the second half, with Kelvin Bowers scoring 11 of his game-high 21 points. Terran Williams, hounded by Dierks defenders, added 13.

“I thought we came out a little bit intimidated,” said Dierks Coach Kevin Alexander, whose team finishes 21-7. “They got us off our rhythm. I told the boys, it was 25-9 at halftime. I said if you told me we’d hold them to 50, I’d say we beat them. I never thought we’d score nine against them.

“Their length did give us problems. We’re used to shooting over 6 foot, 6-1, not 6-5, 6-6.”

Wade, a former Marianna player and a member of Mississippi’s 2003 Sweet 16 team under Rob Barnes, said most of his players are not immediately impressed by his playing credentials.

“They know now,” Wade said. “It’s always a difficult part to get them to trust the process. They want to see it, they want to believe it. They want to hear about it over and over. They need to be reassured a thousand times.

“Sometimes they don’t know the full extent of what I did as a player. It’s hard for them to believe sometimes, but they’ve trusted the process so far. We just got to keep it going.”

Marianna advances to Thursday’s 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal against the winner of today’s matchup between White County Central and Hector.

Alexander said he sees no reason why the Trojans can’t keep advancing.

“They’re definitely the best team we’ve played,” Alexander said. “We drew the best team in the state. When I watched film on them, I was more impressed with him [Wade] than I was with their players. That press they do, it’s hard to break. They rotate really good.”

Wade said sometimes it’s difficult to believe that he’s getting his own basketball team, his hometown team, to do some of the things he did there.

“I really pride myself on being a winner,” Wade said. “I want to push myself against the other coaches. I played here in 1998-99, and to come back here and do some things I did as a player. It’s almost surreal to me.”