After going a disappointing 4-7 on the other side of the calendar, the Mariners kicked off 2001 with the familiar trip to Ocala to participate in the Central Florida Tournament on January 5 and 6. The Mariners were one of four teams in Ocala, along with host school Central Florida Community College, Florida junior college powerhouse Santa Fe Community College, and a technical school from New York.
Any relief would not be forthcoming for the M�s and Coach Gerald Cox on this weekend. On Friday night, the Mariners squared off with Santa Fe for the third time this season and the sixth time in the last two seasons. Minus their two leading scorers, the Saints proved their depth as they still routed the Brunswickians 80-57, making it a clean season sweep-Santa Fe: 3, CGCC: 0.
The host Patriots of Central Florida CC were the Mariners� challengers the following day, and though Coach Cox said he was a lot more pleased with the team�s play against the Pats than against the Saints, the result was the same, as the Mariners sank, 76-55. Afterwards, Coach Cox expressed his displeasure with the officiating at the tournament and hinted that it may have been the Mariners� last trip to Ocala for as long as he is putting together the schedule. Those two losses dropped the Mariners to 4-9 overall and to a somewhat unimpressive 1-9 against Florida schools.
On January 9, the team faced its final Sunshine State foe of the season, as St. John�s River CC came to town. The Mariners had already dropped one to the Vikings on their home floor in Palatka. Considering that the locals had lost three in a row, were facing their final Florida challenger, and were playing the last game before the start of conference play, the M�s had plenty of motivation to win this one. What started out as a routine basketball game ended up as the Mariners� most exciting game of the year so far and one of the best games ever seen on the floor of Howard Coffin Gym.
The Mariners trailed the Vikes by a point at the half, after leading by as many as a dozen. A nail-biting finish to regulation yielded an 84-all tie, sending the game into overtime. The Mariners had a lead as large in seven in the first overtime and appeared to have the game won more than once, but turnovers and free throws let the visitors back in it. After an extra five minutes, the teams were still tied at 99.
The Vikings started off the second overtime with a thunderous, undefended slam dunk, and that portent set the stage for St. John�s finally to take over. They rose from the ashes to take down the Green and Gold in double overtime, 124-116. It was a shame that anyone had to lose the thrilling barnburner, but the Mariners were finally able to put the Florida schools behind them, with one win and ten losses.
And so, ready or not, the Mariners-with a four-game losing streak-had arrived at the door for the part of the schedule that really matters: the conference games. The Mariners opened league play on the afternoon of January 13 against Truett McConnell College from Cleveland, GA. The Danes came into the conference opener at 9-4 with some impressive non-conference wins, including the championship of a high-profile tournament in Tennessee. Despite the stiff competition, the Mariners looked ready to play as they ran out to an early 7-0 lead. The Mariners held a couple of sizeable leads over Truett in the first half, but the Danes would never let the M�s run away from them; at halftime, the Mariners held a lead of only five.
It was more of the same in the second half, as defense and turnovers continued to be the rule in the low-scoring contest. Every time the Mariners would open up a lead of eight or more, Truett would come back to cut the lead to three or four. With the Mariners leading 73-67 in the final minute, a Truett player whose number wasn�t even listed in the program threw up a wild prayer from three-point range that somehow found the basket to cut the lead to three and give Truett one last gasp. But, in the end, it wouldn�t be enough, as the Mariners would prevail, 76-70. The Mariners led the entire game, never trailing or being tied after scoring the opening basket. It was hardly a pretty win, but the result was a 1-0 conference record and, in many ways, a brand-new season for Coastal Georgia.
The Mariners took a short detour from conference play in the form of a date with Brewton Parker�s junior varsity in Mt. Vernon on January 16. The game was essentially a scrimmage for the Mariners as they buzz-sawed the hopelessly outmatched Wildcats, who suited up only eight players for the affair. Jamil Terrell used the opportunity to come out in a big way, scoring 30 points, grabbing 24 (that�s 24) rebounds, and blocking 7 shots. Usual starters Jason Campbell, Robbie McKinlay, and Chris Warzynski never even left the bench as �J.T.� and the Mariner freshmen crushed the opposition, 110-67.
After the carnage at The Mount, it was back to league action as the Mariners headed for Cuthbert on January 19 to face conference weak sister Andrew College. The Mariners may have expected another easy night against the struggling Tigers, but what they got was anything but. From the opening gun, Andrew was ready to play in front of its home crowd, running out to the early lead and carrying a surprising 5-point advantage into halftime. As the second half commenced, the Mariners� offensive woes continued; the Mariners couldn�t hit the basket with a funnel for most of the game and consequently found themselves down by 8 in a low-scoring game with only four minutes to play. The Mariners caught lightning in a bottle at that point, however, as they hit three consecutive 3-pointers (Ben Butler hit the first, Arthur Pye the next two) to take the lead for the first time. From there, they were able to hold on for a fortuitous victory, by the count of 67-65, which ran their overall record to 7-10 and kept them undefeated in conference.
Fort Stewart dropped by to say �howdy� on January 23, and the Mariners provided a few thoughtful welcoming gifts for their visitors: seven double-digit scorers, a pair of double-doubles, and nearly 120 points hung on the board. Derrick Evans and Butler led the Mariners� scoring charge with 16 points each. �Big Bird� Warzynski had 12 boards in addition to his 14 points, while Campbell was �M�m, M�m, Good� (sorry, couldn�t resist), scoring 10 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Franklin �Elmo� White, McKinlay, and Terrell each scored in double figures as well, and the Mariners demolished Fort Stewart by a count of 119-85.
Former Mariner Pat Cohens also had a good night. Cohens, now playing for Fort Stewart, led all scorers with 18; once it became clear that the Mariners had the game well in hand, the Brunswick crowd got behind Cohens. Even though he was wearing the wrong uniform, Pat received the same support from the Brunswick faithful he had gotten while playing for the M�s.
The stage was now set for one of the most glaring dates on the Mariners� schedule. Tied for first place in the GJCAA, the M�s prepared to face the team that had been the states�s 800-lb. gorilla for the past few seasons: the three-time-defending state champion Jaguars of Georgia Perimeter College. On the night of January 27, it was obvious that there was something different about this game. An unusually sizeable crowd filed into Howard Coffin Gym, anxious to see if the Mariners could actually take advantage of Perimeter�s recent struggles and beat the vaunted Jags; the fans would not leave disappointed.
The Mariners grabbed the lead from the opening gun and held onto it throughout. Although Perimeter cut the margin to a deuce at the half and trailed by only a point well into the second half, Coach Cox took a gamble, bringing in his group of talented freshmen who had performed so well of late to protect the tenuous lead. Protect it they did, as the Mariners shooting attack came alive late. For a while, it seemed that CGCC couldn�t miss a shot, and the Mariner lead continued to grow. In the end, the M�s would prevail, 102-92. Campbell led the team with 23. The particularly sweet victory stretched the Mariners� winning streak to five and put them on the doorstep of the .500 mark for the season, lifting their overall record to 9-10.
Still unbeaten in conference play at 3-0, the Mariners were on the road again on January 30, as they came calling on Middle Georgia College in Cochran. After the solid effort against Perimeter, the locals experienced an inconsistent night against the Warriors. The M�s led on the road by four at halftime, but they never pulled away from Middle Georgia. With both teams� shooting percentages in the 40's, offense wasn�t the rule, but Butler did notch 18, hitting four 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Campbell made his obligatory contribution, scoring 14. In the end, it would be just enough, as the Mariners squeaked by, 68-67. Like the earlier Andrew effort, it was an ugly win, but it was the Mariners� sixth straight. Middle Georgia posted its fourth loss in a row after having entered conference play with only one loss.
After nipping the Warriors in hostile territory, the Mariners were back at sea level, standing a square 10-10 on the season. More importantly, their conference record was a perfect 4-0. The next bit of business for CGCC was a long road trip, one which would take them through Oxford, Cleveland, and finally to Atlanta, where they would face the team with whom they were tied for first place-Atlanta Metro. Those results and the Mariners� final fate in 2K1 will be here next time.
© 2000 [email protected]