North Marion overpowers West Port in season opener

West Port coach Bruce Teachey talks to his team during Tuesday night’s game against North Marion. [Photo by Mark Pinson]

As the high school football season winds down, basketball begins to crank up with the beginning of the regular season. North Marion tipped things off against West Port on Tuesday night with the Colts’ placing three players in double figures, led by senior point guard Coy Sizemore’s game-high 21 points, in a 75-33 win over the Wolf Pack.

North Marion utilized a suffocating 2-2-1 half-court press to force West Port into 23 turnovers which the Colts turned into easy baskets. Sophomore center Lamont Sweeting Jr. scored 15 points in the paint and junior Tekelvin Jackson added 11 points on an array of shots.

“Our effort was good, but we have to clean up some things defensively,” said North Marion coach Tim Yarn. “Overall, for the first game I thought the guys played extremely hard and together. Lamont missed all of last year and he gives us an inside presence and I thought we did a good job of looking for each other. We wanted to try and pick up the tempo and give our guys some life, so we went to our press which forced some turnovers. We have a good group of guys; we just have to be better consistently.”

West Port trailed by only two points heading to the second quarter before things began to unravel for the Wolf Pack.

“We worked on the press during practice, but obviously I’ve got to do a better job of coaching, it’s as simple as it gets,” said West Port second-year coach Bruce Teachey. “They scored a lot of points in transition, and we just couldn’t overcome that. North Marion is athletic and quick to the ball but I’m disappointed in our effort. We’ll get right back to work in practice and try and get some things fixed.”

West Port played on even terms with North Marion in the first quarter as Garrett Wilson, who scored a team-high nine points, buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the score at 11 with under three minutes to play in the opening stanza. North Marion’s Tekelvin Jackson answered with a 3-pointer from the left baseline to give the Colts a tenuous 16-14 lead heading to the second quarter.

North Marion forced the action with its trapping press and began to pull away as West Port turned the ball over on numerous possessions. Sizemore put on a show by scoring 10 points on several strong drives to the basket and a 3-pointer from the left wing and Jerdarrius Jackson scored at the buzzer to give the Colts a 40-22 lead at the half.

“We wanted to press because we have some guys that have some long arms, and we wanted to get out and pressure West Port, force the action and make some things happen,” coach Yarn said.”

West Port went ice cold from the floor in the third quarter and North Marion took full advantage as Sweet dominated the paint with six points and Sizemore added nine as the Colts opened up a 57-27 lead heading to the final eight minutes.
The North Marion lead ballooned to more than 35 points which resulted in a running clock midway through the final period which allowed both teams to empty their benches in the closing minutes.

“This is a good group of guys and if they defend and play hard that will give us a chance to win,” coach Yarn said. “We only have nine guys on the team, so we have to stay out of foul trouble as well.”

Class 4A North Marion is back on the hardwood on Thursday night with a road game at Gainesville High School, while West Port travels to Lake Weir on Thursday.