North Marion powers past Dunnellon in boys basketball

North Marion guard Jermaine Jackson Jr. scored a game-high 22 points and center Sammie Yeanay added 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks to lead the Colts to a 66-51 win over Dunnellon on Tuesday night.

The win improved Class 4A North Marion, which won its third game in a row, to 9-4 on the season.

“The kids came out and played well and hats off to Dunnellon because they played us extremely hard,” saId Colts coach Tim Yarn. “The energy in the building was exciting and we played together as a team. Jermaine made some shots tonight and that kind of opened up the floor. Dunnellon put two and half guys on Sammie and it was kind of hard at first, but once we started making some shots things kind of opened up a little bit. Sammie works extremely hard, is very athletic and has a high basketball IQ.”

The loss dropped Class 4A Dunnellon, which was paced by Sean Martin’s 14 points, to 10-6 overall.

“I thought we played well and made some adjustments, but North Marion’s size hurt us,” said Tigers coach Melissa Mosby. “Our game plan was good but North Marion shot the ball well from the outside which is something they haven’t been doing. This is a tough week for us with four games, but this will build the chemistry we need going into the playoffs.”

Dunnellon came out strong in the first quarter as Bode Burns scored eight of his 11 points and Aiden Hafault knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 17-15 lead heading to the second quarter.

North Marion found the range from behind the arc as Jackson drained a trio of 3-pointers and poured in 13 points, while Yeanay, a 6-foot 7 junior who played for North Marion last season before transferring to The Rock in Gainesville during the Christmas break, added four points to go with two assists in his first game back as the Colts enjoyed a 35-27 lead at the half.

“It’s definitely a blessing to have Sammie on the team,” coach Yarn said. “He loves basketball and putting him with eight football players makes us better.”

North Marion extended its lead midway through the third period to 44-29 as Elija Walton and Brenden Barber knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

Dunnellon answered as Hafault buried a 3-pointer from the left baseline to pull the Tigers within 47-40 with under two minutes left in the quarter.

But North Marion’s Titus Williams nailed a 3-pointer to give the Colts a 52-40 lead heading to the final eight minutes.

Dunnellon tried to make a run as Martin scored six points and Hafault drilled a 3-pointer, but Jackson Jr. scored four points, including an acrobatic layup and Yeanay threw down a pair of thunderous dunks as North Marion pulled away for the victory.

“Once we settled in we were able play our game and execute,” coach Yarn said. “We’re focused on getting better every day and it’s going to take a total team effort to accomplish our goals.”

North Marion hosts Vanguard on Friday night, while Dunnellon is at Newberry on Wednesday night.