North Marion rolls past Gainesville Eastside

North Marion’s Lamont Sweeting Jr. (23) scores two of his 12 points as Gainesville Eastside’s Jordan Johnson (15) defends during Tuesday night’s game. [Photo by Mark Pinson]

Gainesville Eastside came into Tuesday night’s tilt with North Marion looking for its first win of the season. After the final buzzer sounded, the Rams were still looking for their first victory after the Colts cruised to a 57-40 win.

North Marion, which placed three players in double figures, improved to 5-1 overall and were led by senior guard Coy Sizemore’s game-high 15 points. The Colts utilized smothering full and half-court presses that forced Eastside into numerous turnovers that were converted into easy baskets.

“I asked the guys to come out with good tempo and I thought we did that,” said North Marion coach Tim Yarn. “Eastside is a young team that is going to get better as the season goes on, so we wanted to put a little heat on them early and try and get a lead. We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, but we pride ourselves on defense and the turnovers helped us get the momentum. We want to be balanced on offense and when we’re playing together and being unselfish, we’re a much harder team to defend.”

Eastside, which dropped to 0-4 on the season, had trouble bringing the ball up the court against North Marion’s defensive pressure to open the game and fell behind. North Marion junior guard Jerdarrius Jackson poured in 10 of his 14 points and sophomore center Lamont Sweeting Jr. added five of his 12 points to help the Colts take a 19-11 lead heading to the second period.

North Marion kept the pressure on and Eastside, which committed 23 turnovers, had trouble finding any consistency on offense. The Colts extended their lead as Sizemore drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing and De’marion Bentley added a putback to make it 30-17 at the half.

North Marion came out focused to begin the second half as Sweeting, who dominated in the paint, scored five points and the sharp-shooting Sizemore buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to help the Colts take a commanding 49-28 lead heading into the final quarter.

Eastside, which continued to battle, was led by Jordan Johnson’s seven points, while Jai’vion Williams chipped in with six. North Marion, with a big lead, went to its bench in the final stanza. Jackson scored on a slashing drive to the basket and Darryl Johnson added a bucket in the paint as the Colts cruised to the victory.

“Our inside-outside game worked well for us tonight,” coach Yarn said. “This is a good win, and we want to continue to get better.”

North Marion is back on the hardwood on Thursday night when the Colts host Dunnellon.

North Marion’s Toure James (2) looks to pass the ball as Gainesville Eastside’s Raheen Littles closes in during Tuesday night’s game. [Photo by Mark Pinson]