Patriots Clinch second seed in 5A East
Marion beats Jonesboro, Lady Pats fall to Lady Hurricane
By TYLER BENNETT
Marion School District
A chaotic energy filled Patriot Arena for senior night as the Patriots split with the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane. The playoff picture will be finalized after the final results of the regular season games, but the Patriots’ spot in the postseason was clinched with the final buzzer.
The night started with a rematch for the Lady Patriots (12-17 overall, 5-9 5A East) that was very similar to their first meeting with the Lady Hurricane (22-9, 10-4). The Lady Pats held the advantage for the majority of the game, but it was the Lady Canes who pulled away late thanks to their defense.
Marion led 15-12 at the end of the first because of their transition offense after capitalizing on Jonesboro turnovers. Seniors Joi Montgomery and Keiana Delaney helped their cause with a three-pointer from each in the first quarter.
Jonesboro outscored the Lady Pats 10-8 in the second quarter, but it still seemed like Marion had the momentum going into the break. Marion’s defense sent them to the locker rooms with a 23-22 lead.
Both teams came out strong in the third quarter, scoring 19 points each, but the fourth quarter was all Jonesboro. The Lady Canes outscored Marion 17-6 in the final quarter to take the 58-48 win.
Marion’s leading scorer, sophomore Daedrianna Cail with eleven points, was the Lady Patriot to finish in double figures, but nine players found their way to the scorebook. Montgomery was in foul trouble early, but finished with eight points and Delaney finished with seven points.
The game that followed was the most significant game on the Patriots’ (14-13, 10-4) schedule this season, against a Golden Hurricane team (16-10, 9-5) that they went to overtime with in their first meeting. The winner would take the second seed and play next Thursday, but a loss had the risk of dropping the loser to fourth depending on what happened in the Greene County Tech game.
The Pats started the game on a 9-0 run, but Jonesboro closed the gap to four before the end of the quarter. Marion led 11-7 after the first, but Jonesboro outscored the Pats 18-9 in the second thanks to wide open three-pointers and capitalizing on their free throw opportunities.
Jonesboro led 25-20 at the half and outscored the Pats 13-11 in the third to extend it to a seven point game. The Canes got some more open looks at the start of the fourth and led by as many as twelve with around six minutes to go. That was when the Patriots and the crowd got back into the game.
Marion hit four of their six three-pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored the Canes 24-15 in the final frame. The 55-53 win sealed the second seed for the Pats and dropped the Canes to the four spot with Tech’s win Thursday night.
Two Patriots finished in double figures, Detrick Reeves with 21 points and Darrius Waterford with 14 points, and they both had multiple three-point makes. Seven total Patriots made their way to the scorebook including seniors Makyi Boyce and BJ Johnson with six point each.
The Patriots’s first game of the state tournament will be on Thursday, March 5 against the three seed from the 5A West. Marion will play either the Vilonia Eagles or the Little Rock Christian Warriors depending on the outcomes of their games on Friday night.
Vilonia is currently in third and is playing seventh place Siloam Springs. Second place Little Rock Christian hosts first place Russellville.
Marion will play Vilonia if Little Rock Christian wins or if Vilonia loses. If Vilonia wins and Christian loses, it will be Patriots vs Warriors in the first round.
Detrick Reeves (0) makes a tough shot through contact. Marion now owns the second seed in the 5A East with the win over the Golden Hurricane.
Photo by Tyler Bennett
