Patriots sweep Rams

Marion girls, boys take care of business against Paragould

By TYLER BENNETT

Marion School District

Marion basketball got a pair of much needed wins at Paragould Tuesday night as the regular season begins to wind down. Both Patriot teams capitalized on their size advantage in the paint as they continued to create playing time for more players.

The Lady Patriots (12-16 overall, 5-8 5A East) snapped a five-game skid last Friday against Greene County Tech and looked to continue their winning ways against the Lady Rams (8-16, 4-9). Marion won the first meeting 59-45 in Patriot Arena on January 28. Marion came out of the gate strong, leading by as many as eight to start the game before the Lady Rams got hot from beyond the arc. Paragould guard Carson DeFries in particular hit three triples in the first half.

Despite the long-range attack from the Rams, the Lady Pats kept working in the paint offensively, leading to second-chance opportunities and fouls against the Lady Rams. Marion led 34-29 at the half.

Neither team changed their strategy in the second half and the Lady Patriots made their free throws when the time came. The Lady Pats were an unstoppable force in the paint in their 75-69 win.

Four Lady Pats finished in double figures with three of them doing the majority of their damage from short range. Junior Jala Henderson led the Lady Pats with 17 points, the majority of which came from second chance opportunities created by crashing the offensive glass.

Seniors Keiana Delaney and Joi Montgomery created enough shots in the paint to finish with 14 and 12 respectively, and junior Amiya Sloan hit

See MARION, page A11

Jala Henderson (32) drives to the basket against Paragould.

Photo by Tyler Bennet MARION

From page A8

two three-pointers in her 14 point effort. Junior Daedrianna Cail fouled out, but finished with nine points in her second game back from a high-ankle sprain.

The Patriot boys (13-13, 9-4) put themselves in the driver’s seat to potentially take the second seed in the 5A East with their rout of the Paragould Rams (1-23, 0-13) on Tuesday. Marion got a big lead early on the struggling Rams, which led to a running clock in the fourth quarter of their 68-33 win.

Marion senior Detrick Reeves led all scorers with 26 points and was one of four Patriots to finish with double figures. Senior BJ Johnson did his damage on the offensive glass and scored eleven points, followed by senior Makyi Boyce and freshman Jayden Forrest with ten points each.

The Pats woke up Tuesday morning in the middle of a three-way tie for second place with Jonesboro and Greene County Tech, who all sat at 8-4 in conference. Marion and Jonesboro won their games Tuesday night, but Tech fell to West Memphis, creating a fun night in Patriot Arena this Thursday.

The consequences for losing the regular season finale are complex because of head-to-head records and tie-breaker points, but the reward for a win is pretty simple. The winner of the Marion/Jonesboro game gets the second seed in the state tournament and will most likely play the Vilonia Eagles in the first round of the state tournament.

The first game between the Pats and the Canes went to overtime after the Pats trailed by 14 in the fourth, but the result was still a 67-66 win for Jonesboro. Senior night from Patriot Arena on Thursday, February 27 will begin with the girls’ game at 6:00 pm, followed by the boys’ game after the senior night festivities.