Gallery: Vanguard knocks off archrival North Marion in the first round of the Kingdom of the Sun Tournament

Vanguard’s Cameron Powell (0) drives to the basket as he is defended by North Marion’s Elija Walton (2) and Jermaine Jackson (3) during a basketball game in the Kingdom of the Sun basketball tournament at Vanguard High School in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. Vanguard won the game 51-44. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

The Vanguard Knights and North Marion Colts reignited their heated rivalry on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Kingdom of the Sun Tournament at Vanguard.

Vanguard came out swinging in the first quarter as Jeremiah Gallion (six points and three rebounds) and D’mareon Manning drilled three-pointers to give their team a 10-2 lead after four minutes. North Marion would answer with a pair of buckets from Jermaine Jackson Jr. (team-high 12 points) and a crisp 12-foot jumper from Jerdarrius Jackson (6 points, two rebounds and two steals) to shrink the deficit down to two points.

Manning knocked down his second three-pointer of the opening stanza from the left corner. The first quarter finished with Vanguard leading 13-8 after neither team hit a shot in the final 90 seconds of the period.

North Marion started the second quarter with five consecutive points on a three from Brenden Barber and a sweet 14-foot jump shot by Jermaine Jackson Jr. Manning would score the only points of the second quarter for Vanguard with a 10-foot jumper.

The final three minutes of the second quarter featured a handful of missed shots from both teams but North Marion would get points from Elija Walton (10 points and eight rebounds) and Jerdarrius Jackson in the last 30 seconds to give North Marion a 17-15 lead at halftime.

North Marion opened the third quarter with a bucket from Caleb Rollerson, but Manning answered with his second three-pointer of the game.

The pace of the game picked up in the second half as the two teams combined for 29 points in the third quarter. Manning got into a rhythm as he hit his third three-pointer later in the quarter. Rickey Harrell (two points and four rebounds), Khalil Morgan and Cameron Powell (nine points and two rebounds) also contributed for Vanguard while both Jackson’s, Walton and Barber scored for North Marion.

For a rhythm shooter like Manning, all it took was a couple of made shots to get him in a groove.

“So if I hit the first one or two, I just know to keep shooting.” Manning said, he finished the night with a team-high 24 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals.

North Marion held a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but Powell sank two free throws in the opening seconds of the final stanza to give Vanguard the lead.

Walton and Powell both had the opportunity to give their team the lead but both players missed a pair of free throws. A three-pointer by Rollerson gave North Marion a two-point lead with just under five minutes left to go in the game.

After Rollerson’s three, Vanguard gained its second wind as Manning scored five unanswered points, including his fourth three-pointer of the night to extend Vanguard’s lead to five with 3:52 left on the clock.

Gallion came up with a momentous steal at half court and secured the layup in transition to put Vanguard up by seven with about three minutes left. North Marion clawed back to within four after a fantastic putback slam dunk by Walton and another gorgeous jumper by Jermaine Jackson.

Vanguard would continue to answer every comeback attempt as Jewmaris Jones hit a pair of free throws to put Vanguard up by five with two minutes left to go.

North Marion had a chance to tie the game over the final 90 seconds but three missed free throws forced them into desperation mode by fouling Vanguard. Manning would sink two free throws  with 58 seconds left and Gallion followed with a point from the charity stripe to put the nail in the coffin and give Vanguard a 51-44 win.

The Kingdom of the Sun Tournament is the longest-running 16-team high school basketball tournament in the country and the rivalry of the two schools led to packed gym with a energetic crowd.

North Marion head coach Tim Yarn said the crowd and the environment may have affected the way his team played on Tuesday night.

“Hats off to Vanguard first and foremost, Kingdom of the Sun is a great environment. Good rival and Vanguard’s pressure, it’s just the way it goes sometimes.” Yarn said.

Yarn is optimistic about his team bouncing back in their matchup against Hawthorne on Wednesday (9 a.m.).

“It’s a great opportunity for us to build from this. Just told the guys that it’s over and done, lets just move forward and focus on Hawthorne.” Yarn said, North Marion is now 5-3 on the season.

For Vanguard head coach Todd Davis, the rivalry with North Marion is always fun to be a part of and tends to bring a ton of passion.

“It feels good, I’m good friends with the coaches over there and we always go back and forth talking about rivalries. It’s always good to play against North Marion, they always bring out the best in us and Vanguard always brings out the best in North Marion.” Davis said.

Tuesday’s win is a great start for Vanguard but tough challenges lie ahead as they will face P.K. Yonge on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

“We’re going to go in and battle and grind and hopefully get a win, can’t let nobody outwork us on our home court.” Davis said, Vanguard improves to 7-3 on the season.