Bluffton girls rally past Lake Marion

After nearly three quarters of futility, the Bluffton girls basketball team came alive in the fourth quarter to beat Lake Marion, 41-30, on Friday night to improve to 4-2 in the Region 8-AAA standings.

With his team trailing by seven points late in the third quarter, head coach Lonnie Roberts sparked his squad with a wholesale substitution.

The move paid off as Sheree Williams, Katelyn Grant, Breighone Brown, Shannon Gadson and Shakeria Kitty checked in and quickly shifted the momentum, rallying the Bobcats to a two-point lead.

Roberts made another five-for-five swap with 6:18 left in the game, as Shawanda Stokes, Amanda Thompson, Jennifer Giles, Toniqua Wynn and Janiecia Mitchell took over from there, extending Bluffton's lead to 12.

"We do have two teams for scrimmaging purposes and I think they're well-balanced," Roberts said. "It gives some kids that haven't been playing an opportunity to play, which is great, and it's good for our home crowd. It's good to see the kind of support we're getting."

Thompson led all Bluffton scorers with 14 points. The senior forward is averaging 10.8 points per game this season.

"We know that we have to come out every night and prove to everybody that Bluffton has a basketball team," Thompson said. "We're a varsity team, we're ready to play and we want that region spot."

Lake Marion led 18-13 at halftime thanks in large part to two 3-pointers from Jamika Hanton and one from Brittany Graham.

The Gators were unable to sustain that offensive pace in the second half, scoring just six points in the third quarter on three field goals, and seven points in the fourth period -- all from the foul line. Bluffton's switch to man-to-man defense was the biggest reason for Lake Marion's drop in production.

"We just stopped scoring," Lake Marion coach Jarion Avinger said. "Give credit to Bluffton and their full-court pressure. In the conference, we're averaging about 29 points a game, so we played pretty average tonight."

Hanton led Lake Marion (7-13, 0-6) in scoring with 10.

For Bluffton (8-13, 4-2), Williams and Giles each scored six behind Thompson's 14. Nine players contributed to the final score.

Bluffton beat Lake Marion 60-28 earlier this season.

"It's real difficult to beat a team a second time," Roberts said. "We had a slow start but we got things going in the second half."

LAKE MARION (7-13) -- Jamika Hanton 10, Raven Scales 6, Brittany Graham 5, I'Asia Williams 4, Latifah Hilliard 4, Samantha Haney 2.

BLUFFTON (8-13) -- Amanda Thompson 14, Jennifer Giles 6, Sheree Williams 6, Breighone Brown 4, Katelyn Grant 4, Shawanda Stokes 3, Shannon Gadson 2, Janiecia Mitchell 1, Alex Bailey 1.

Lake Marion boys 51, Bluffton 37

In a game dominated by underclassmen, Lake Marion freshman Michael Williams outshined Bluffton freshman C.J. Frazier, dealing a blow to the Bobcats' playoff hopes.

Williams scored eight of his game-high 15 points in the second quarter and ended the night with a slam dunk at the buzzer.

"It's good to come in here and win a conference game," Williams said. "... Our team's strength is scoring off our defense."

Lake Marion sophomore Monte Hilliard also had a big game, finishing with 13 points, nine of which came from the foul line. As a team, Lake Marion hit 14-of-20 free throws.

"I'm pleased to get out of here with a win," Lake Marion coach Roy Brown said. "I thought our overall effort was good. Both teams have a lot of young talent, so hopefully in a few years this will become a big rivalry between us."

Bluffton's defense played an admirable game but its offense couldn't take advantage, scoring just 21 points through the first three quarters. The Bobcats showed signs of life with 16 points in the fourth but it was too little, too late.

"It's disappointing, because we thought it was a winable game and we came out and played just phenomenal half-court defense in the first quarter," Bluffton coach Brett Macy said. "Take away the fouling in the last couple of minutes and we hold (Lake Marion) to around 40 and we're still not in the game. Offensively, we've just got to be able to knock shots down."

Lake Marion improves to 14-8 overall and 4-2 in the region while Bluffton falls to 5-13 overall and 1-5 in region play. The Bobcats can still make the playoffs with a win at Stall, a win at Hilton Head High and some help from the Seahawks.

LAKE MARION (14-8) -- Michael Williams 15, Monte Hilliard 13, Sedrick Drayton 6, Tevin Felder 4, Larry Moorer 4, Marques Watson 3, Kelvin Warr 2, Sam White 2, Reggie Washington 2.

BLUFFTON (5-13) -- C.J. Frazier 10, Bryson Bell 8, Alfonza Powell 6, Stephen Bradley 4, Anthony Smith 3, Eric Boyles 2, Coley Davis 2, Brandon Rivers 2.