Cardinals Nip Tigers at Home

Marion, AL. - The MMI men's basketball team dropped a home game to the Cardinals of Gadsden State CC Thursday evening, 98-91 in ACCC North action.  

Gadsden State took a quick three-point lead, 8-11, before Zhavian Green hit a midrange jumper to cut the lead to one.  Back-to-back baskets by the Cardinals grew the lead to four points but Marion was able to make small run and take a slim one-point lead with 8:02 to play before intermission.  Jimmie Sanders scored two of his fifteen points and Mark Bradwell took a charge to give the ball back to the Tigers.  Brandon Jackson found Chris Brown under the basket for an easy layup. Both teams traded baskets the next seven minutes with neither team being able to pull away.  Tied at 36 apiece, the Cardinals hit a three-pointer before the buzzer sounded to take a 39-36 advantage into halftime.

The Tigers quickly cut into the Cardinal's lead to start the second period and was able to take a lead within the first few minutes.  Kendall Thomas hit back-to-back three pointers to make the score 43-41, advantage Marion.  After GSCC tied the score on their next possession, Darius Dawson connected from behind the arc to give Marion another three-point lead.  Gadsden went on a small run and took a one-point lead before Dawson drove the baseline for a 50-49 advantage.  Unfortunately for the home squad, that was the last lead of the night as the Cardinals chipped away to build a double digit lead with just eight minutes to play in regulation.  The Tigers would not go away quietly and fought to the end, making GSCC hit free throws to secure their win.

Darius Dawson led Marion with 24 points.  Jimme Sanders and Kendall Thomas both finished scoring in double digits, with 15 and 14 points respectively.  Also scoring for the Tigers were: Zhavian Green (9), Chris Brown (8), Monte Wilkerson (7), Mark Bradwell (7),  Brandon Jackson (7), and Theron Montgomery (1).