Patriots roll over Searcy

Patriots roll over Searcy

Marion boys, girls complete season sweep of Lions

Marion School District Neither Patriot team could be stopped Friday night by the Searcy Lions. Marion’s squads had big nights against the struggling Lions, winning the two games by a combined 63 points.

The Patriots (17-3 overall, 10-0 5A East) went to double overtime in their first meeting with the Lions (914, 2-8), but played with a running clock in the fourth quarter on Friday. The defense of the Lady Patriots (13-11, 5-5) smothered the Lady Lions (4-19, 0-10) from start to finish, creating a lot of transition offense for Marion.

Marion’s boys remain undefeated in conference play with the win, moving another step closer to a conference title. Jonesboro defeated Greene County Tech on Friday, but the win over Searcy dropped the magic number to three.

The Patriots were on upset alert in the first meeting and did not want to give the Searcy crowd a chance to get into the game on Friday. Head Coach David Clark said that a lack of focus by the Pats in the first meeting helped keep the Lions in the game.

“We were looking past Searcy in the first meeting,” Clark said after the game. “We had a great game plan, but everyone was looking down the schedule instead of focusing on (Searcy). We were locked in this game and the result is evidence of that.”

Marion looked locked in from the start of the game, starting with aggressive defensive plays and a near-perfect first quarter performance from senior center Timothy Ceaser.

Ceaser led all scorers with 20 points.

If Ceaser did not shoot the ball, he was making great passes and creating scoring opportunities for the Pats.

“He’s just so unselfish,” Clark said about Ceaser’s performance. “I don’t know how many assists he had tonight, but all four of Tristan’s buckets came off passes from Tim.”

Marion had a lot of assists as a team in the first half, and created extra possessions for themselves by creating turnovers. The Pats only allowed 9 Searcy points in the first quarter and ten in the second.

Marion scored at least 20 points in each quarter and led 43-19 at half.

Freddie Hicks was the go-to player for the Lions in the first game with 31 points and four three-pointers. Clark gave senior guard Keyshawn Woods the assignment to guard Hicks. Woods held the talented Hicks to six points in the first half.

“All year long, he’s been our defensive stopper,” Clark said about Woods after the game. “I’ve told every college that’s called me that he’s the heart of our team. When he sets the tone on defense, we know we can play a great game.”

Hicks would finish with 17 points, but Searcy would be led by senior guard Peyton Caldwell with 18 points. The pair combined for seven threepoint makes, four of which came in the third quarter.

Searcy came out hot in the third, outscoring the Pats 19-18 in the quarter.

However, Marion’s defense would settle back down in the fourth as the Pats outscored the Lions 13-6 for the 74-44 final score.

The Lady Pats started the night with an even more impressive defensive achievement, holding the Lady Lions to just five total points after two quarters.

Marion seemed to relax in the third, giving up 18 to the Lady Lions in the quarter, but still outscored Searcy 15-8 in the fourth for the 64-31 victory.

“We wanted to score and score fast,” Head Coach Shunda Johnson said after the game about her team’s game plan. “We wanted to establish a cushion as soon as we could and ride that out for the win.”

Marion will be back home on Tuesday, February 12 to host the Mountain Home Bombers. The Lady Bombers (14-9, 6-4) won the first meeting in Mountain Home 45-30. The Patriot boys needed clutch free throws in the final minute of their meeting with the Bombers (8-14, 3-7) to escape from the Hangar with a 50-47 win.

Tuesday’s games will start with the girls’ game at 6:00 p.m. The boys’ game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

By Tyler Bennett