Patriots come back to defeat Golden Eagles

Patriots come back to defeat Golden Eagles

The Marion Patriots overcame a half- time deficit to

earn a conference victory over Greene County Tech

sports@theeveningtimes.com

Behind a strong second half, the Marion Patriots (10-7 overall, 5-5 6A/5A-3 Conference) rallied to earn a 64-53 victory and complete a season sweep over the Greene County Tech Golden Eagles (10-6, 4-6).

The Patriots faced a disadvantage early, as starting center Timothy Ceaser collected three personal fouls through the first half of the opening stanza. As the 6’8” center watched on helplessly from the bench, the Golden Eagles continuously slugged their way to the Marion basket. Despite 14 first half points by Patriots senior Shaun Doss and three second quarter steals from Taylor Brown, Greene County Tech carried a 36-31 lead into the locker room at the break.

However, Ceaser returned to the game to open up the second half of action and immediately made an impact by playing brilliant, smart basketball while only collecting one more foul throughout the remainder of the contest.

Marion Patriots Head Coach Irving Clay believes that Ceaser’s ability to play until the final buzzer served as a pivotal factor in his team’s success.

“The most important thing is he didn’t foul out,” Clay stated. “He was able to stay in the game. That was the difference in the ball game.”

Fifteen seconds into the second stanza, Ceaser got the Patriots on the board with a basket and snagged two rebounds in the first 1:30 of the quarter.

Momentum in the arena shifted along with the lead, as Patriots point guard Keyshawn Woods drove to the Golden Eagle’s bucket for a layup to give Marion a 37-36 advantage with six minutes left in the third.

Marion’s Martinez Harper also made an impact in the quarter, which the Patriots won 17-7, by connecting from downtown twice on back-to-back possessions.

Ceaser continued to make his presence felt as well, making good on a conventional 3-point play to help the Patriots secure a 48-43 lead going into the final eight minutes of play.

Energy remained with the Marion team to start the fourth quarter, as Ceaser slammed home an alleyoop from Woods and Doss connected from the low post to highlight a 7-2 run throughout the first 4:30 of the final stanza. As the Patriots run led to a 12- point Marion lead, the Golden Eagles failed to fight back into the game.

The Patriots defense excelled in the second half of play. After giving up 21 second quarter points, Marion held the Golden Eagles to just 17 points throughout the rest of the game and only allowed two Green County Tech players to convert on multiple buckets in the final sixteen minutes of play.

Containing the perimeter and remaining energetic served as the difference in the second half for the Patriots, according to Clay. “We stayed on their shooters,” Clay said. “They had been making a lot of three’s. So, we took a chance and let them drive to the basket. Also, we got more subs and more fresh legs in than they did.”

The conference battle was a rematch of a 70-51 Patriots victory earlier this season on December 9th at Greene County Tech.

Marion seals a season sweep over their 6A/5A-3 Conference opponents as the two teams will not meet again in the regular season.

Doss blazed the way on the scoreboard in the Patriots win, leading all scorers with 21 points.

Woods also dominated the Golden Eagles by pumping in 18 points while Harper and Ceaser chipped in 8 and 7, respectively.

Cody Dortch and Logan Sapp led the way for the Golden Eagles with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Although the individual efforts from Dortch and Sapp failed to be enough to negate a 16-point second half difference in scoring, favoring the Patriots.

The Marion Patriots return to action tonight as the team travels to Wynne for a rematch against the Wynne Yellowjackets (612, 3-7). Tip-off between the Patriots and Yellowjackets is slated for 5 p.m.

By Collins Peeples