Waccamaw rally falls short in loss to Marion

By Chris Sokoloski

csokoloski@gtowntimes.com

No one expected a dogfight before the boys basketball teams from Waccamaw and Marion high schools took to the court on Friday night.

The Swamp Foxes came into the game with 11 wins. The Warriors came in with 10 losses.

But a dogfight is what fans got as the Warriors battled back from a 20-point deficit before falling 59-54.

"Warriors is what's across the chest and that's what they are," Waccamaw coach Mike Quinn said. "To come back from 20 against a team of that magnitude shows the true character of this team."

Marion held Waccamaw scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the game and led 17-4 at the end of the first.

The Warriors outscored the Swamp Foxes 20-17 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 34-24 at halftime.

Marion then went on a run to start the second half and led 53-33 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter belonged to Waccamaw, with the Warriors outscoring the Swamp Foxes 21-6.

Waccamaw held Marion to two points for the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter, and a Dejan Frasier three-pointer with 2 minutes left in the game cut the lead to 55-51.

"They came together; they were focused," Quinn said. "Nobody quit."

After Marion scored, a three-pointer by Trevor Newbauer, his only basket of the game, made the score 57-54.

The Swamp Foxes had a turnover on the inbounds play, but Waccamaw couldn't hit a shot down the stretch.

"We had three great looks at the end but the ball just didn't go in," Quinn said.

Frasier led the Warriors with 26 points, five steals and four rebounds. He was 5-of-7 from the free throw line.

"Dejan played with every ounce of everything you can play with on both ends of the basketball court," Quinn said. "He put the team on his back and then some."

A.J. Grant had 14 points and seven steals; Noah Gulley had seven points and four steals; Newbauer had three points and seven rebounds; and Taylor King had four rebounds.