Tigers Return Home for 7th Win

Marion, AL. – The Marion Military Institute men's basketball team was glad to get back to the friendly confines of the William R. Ireland Athletic Center after dropping two consecutive road games.  The Tigers defeated the LBW Saints 76-57 to improve to 7-2 on the season.

Marion took an early 7-0 lead before LBW got on the scoreboard.  Joshua Rathell was fouled and connected on one of two from the free throw line.  Josue Passius followed with an offensive putback.  Rathell was on the receiving end of a steal by freshman point guard Quavon Blackwood; he was followed by a layup from Nathan Boyd.

LBW would scrap their way back into the game and cut the lead to four, 29-25, with under four minutes to play in the first period.  A mini scoring drought by both teams stopped when Mark Bradwell blocked an LBW shot and Passius found him on the offensive end for a layup with 1:12 on the clock.  Jacorey Turnipseed, Marion's high scorer for the night, hit a midrange jumper to extend the lead to eight on the next play. A defensive stop by the Tigers allowed Andrew Reddick to find Turnipseed for one of his six three-pointers before the buzzer sounded at the half.  The home squad held a 36-28 lead.

The second half saw LBW put together a small run and cut the lead to six, 36-30, before the Tigers went on their own extended run.  Marion took their first double digit lead at the 18:51 mark when Joshua Rathell hit a shot from behind the arc.  Rathell followed with a layup to extend the lead to 44-30. 

Back-to-back three pointers by Turnipseed grew MMI's lead to 51-30.  LBW tried to put together a couple of runs but couldn't get any closer than fourteen.  The Tigers took their biggest lead of the game with under seven minutes to play in regulation, 64-41, when Bradwell and Turnipseed went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.  Marion cruised the remainder of the game to record their seventh win of the season.

Turnipseed and Rathell both finished scoring in double digits; 22 and 16 points, respectively.   Mark Bradwell and Ladarius Carter each added 8 points for Marion, who will travel to Brewton, Alabama this Saturday for an afternoon game against the Coastal Alabama Community College Warhawks.  Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were: Josue Passius (7), Stacy Burse (6), Nathan Boyd (5), and Andrew Reddick (4).