FC boys hoops win streak hits six games

Franklin County High School’s varsity boys basketball team might well be thinking of adopting a Jerry Reed country music classic as their theme song.

Reed’s “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” prefectly spells out the streak the Bulldogs are on in winning six-straight games leading into the Christmas holiday.

FC started last week with a 63-55 home win over Morton on Tuesday, Dec. 7 and claimed a 54-46 road victory over Pearl on Saturday, Dec. 11.

The Bulldogs are sporting a 9-1 season record overall with only a handful of games remaining in the calendar year.

The team’s last — and only — loss of the season thus far came on Saturday, Nov. 6 against Provine.

“Our goal is to keep getting better every time we take the court,” FCHS Head Basketball Coach Rickey O’Quinn said.

“I’m really proud of the effort these guys are showing because they are willing to put in the work to improve themselves as players and to make the team better.”

Still, O’Quinn said one element his team is working on diligently is consistency — on both sides of the basketball.

“That involves everything from shooting to rebounds, and being able to take a lead and hold on to that by limiting teams from coming back on us,” he continued.
FC 63, MORTON 55

Franklin County used overpowering offensive runs in the first and fourth quarters to claim a home win over Morton — with the Bulldogs outscoring the visiting team 20-12 in the first eight minutes of regulation and 15-9 in the final frame of the affair.

Kobe Marshall and Daylen Thomas finished the night in double figures on the tally sheet with 19 and 15 points, respectively.

Michael Covington chipped in nine points in the victory while Caleibria McDonald and Derrick Wilson ended up with eight each.

Amarion Wilson recorded four points for the Dawgs.

Offensively, Franklin County shot 44 percent on its two pointers against Morton and 33 percent from beyond the arch.

As a whole, the Bulldogs had a 12-of-18 performance from the free throw line in the game with Thomas hitting 5-of-7, Marshall sinking 4-of-6 and McDonald going 2-of-2.

McDonald had 11 rebounds — three offensive boards and eight defensive grabs — along with three assists and two steals.

Thomas chipped in nine total rebounds — three offensive and six defensive — with a pair of assists and a single take-away.

Marshall led Franklin County in two categories with six assists and four steals while pulling down five rebounds.

Wilson accounted for four FC rebounds and a steal with Covington adding three boards, two assists and two steals.

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FC 54, PEARL 46

A 19-7 first-quarter run for the Bulldogs proved to be the difference in a weekend road contest against the Pearl Pirates in which Franklin County held on for a 54-46 victory.

The two teams kept things close with Pearl outscoring FC 13-11 in the second quarter and 14-13 in the third.

The final frame finished with an 11-all offensive run by both teams.

McDonald wound up as Franklin’s top scorer with 17 points while Marshall contributed 11.

Covington scored eight points for the Dawgs as Christian Goins added seven, Thomas tacked on six and Wilson recorded five.

FC shot 34 percent in relation to its field goals, 32 percent from three-point land and 46 percent from the charity stripe.

McDonald recorded eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals to pace the Bulldogs with Marshall pulling down six boards and gaining four assists and four steals.

Thomas finished with seven rebounds against Pearl while Covington, Wilson and Kentrez Bonds had two each.
Wilson and Covington each had an assist apiece in the winning effort.

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UPCOMING GAMES

The Bulldogs were scheduled to go on the road Tuesday, Dec.14 to face off against Lawrence County.

Results of that game were not available at press time, but will appear in next week’s print edition of the newspaper.

On Friday, Dec. 17, FC will travel again to battle Natchez High School.

On Saturday, Dec. 18, the Dawgs will go on the road to play South Pike in the Lions Club Classic Tournament.

After Christmas, FC will face off in tournament play against Terry on Monday, Dec. 27 and McComb on Tuesday, Dec. 28.

The team will travel to Port Gibson on Tuesday, Jan. 4 for a district game.