Patriots remain undefeated in 5A East, beat Pioneers
Marion boys edge closer to conference title with win over Batesville at home
By Chuck Livingston
Marion School District
It’s easy to forget about the adversity that Marion’s boys team faced entering the 2022-2023 basketball season.
Since the Pats advanced last March to the state final for just the third time in school history, a pair of allstate performers exited Marion to continue their careers at prestigious prep schools, while a freshman all-conference player also left.
As Marion established itself this winter as a statetitle contender and likely winner of the 5A East, more adversity reared its head as senior guard and leading scorer Donnie Cheers, III, went down in February with a foot injury and will not play again this season.
Then, junior forward Jalen White missed Tuesday night’s home tilt with Batesville and a timetable for his return is unclear.
Despite mounting adversity, Marion remained perfect in 5A East play and moved just one game away from clinching its first conference title since 2019 with Tuesday’s 60-50 victory over Batesville at Fidelity Bank Arena.
The Patriots (22-6 overall, 11-0 5A East) scored the game’s first 11 points and never trailed the Pioneers (5-22, 1-10).
Marion sophomore Lyndell Buckingham scored a game-high 24 points to go along with four assists and three steals, while junior Kayden Nesbitt checked in with 10 points and four rebounds, and freshman LaDaryl Robinson added seven points and four rebounds in his first career varsity game. Robinson led the junior high district tournament title team this season in scoring and rebounds.
Matt Hendrix paced Batesville with 16 points, including four three-pointers, while Rafael Thomas scored 14 points, and Jermiah Strickland added 12.
Buckingham sparked the opening Marion run by scoring the first nine points of the ballgame, and when junior Jermiah Miller hit a layup, the Pats led 11-0 with 3:30 left in the opening stanza. Buckingham later assisted on a David Brewer three-pointer and hit a free throw that gave Marion a 21-9 lead after a quarter.
Batesville didn’t back
See PATS, page A9
Photo by Londa Hamrick PATS
From page A6
down, however, scoring six of the first eight points of the second quarter, and worked within 27-22 when Thomas hit a three-pointer that beat the halftime buzzer.
Buckingham went back to work early in the third period, scoring on a runner before Martavius Davis registered a stickback and split a pair of free throws for a 32-24 Marion lead.
Batesville got within 37-33 with 3:17 left in the third quarter when Hendrix rattled home a three-pointer, and 39-35 when Thomas hit a layup, but Nesbitt converted a three-point play late in the third period to give the hosts a 42-35 advantage after three.
A Hendrix three-pointer started the scoring and got the Pioneers within four points again (42-38), but Robinson scored a layup, followed by Buckingham hitting each end of a oneand- one as the Pats led 4638. A Shane Dunlap runner got Batesville within 48-43 with 5:31 remaining when Marion embarked on its winning run. A Brewer free throw preceded a Robinson stickback, and when Buckingham made a pair of free throws, the Marion lead was back to 10 points at 53-43. The Patriot fourth-quarter advantage topped out at 56-43 when Dawon Smith scored on a stickback.
Marion made 4 of 6 free throws in the game’s final 1:21 to clinch victory.
What’s Next?
Marion travels on Friday to Greene County Tech (21-7 overall, 5-6 5A East). The Patriots earned a 67-49 victory over Tech in January at home in a game that doubled as Marion coach David Clark’s 100th victory at the school. The girls contest will tip at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game around 7:30. Both games will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.
Rankings Rundown
Marion remained No. 1 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s weekly comprehensive Class 5A “Super Six” rankings, followed by Pine Bluff (19-6 overall), Hot Springs (16-7), Nettleton (19-6), Lake Hamilton (21-4), and Maumelle (17-10). The Patriots remained at No. 5 in the ADG’s Overall Top 10 ranking, while popular preps website ScoreBookLive.com moved Marion up to No. 4 in this week’s rankings.
No MPAN Valley View Broadcast
Due to Valley View playing this basketball season in a smaller gym, there will be no MPAN broadcast of that game. We will provide the link to Valley View’s broadcast when it becomes available.
Feb. 14 5A East Results
Marion 60, Batesville 50 Valley View 50, W.
Memphis 40 Nettleton 61, Paragould 43 Greene Co. Tech 78, Searcy 65
5A East Standings & Conference Records
Marion 11-0* Nettleton 9-2* Greene Co. Tech 5-6 Searcy 5-6 Paragould 5-6 Valley View 5-6 W. Memphis 4-8 Batesville 1-10 *clinched playoff spot (top four teams make playoffs).
