Patriots bash Lions, 57-30
Marion boys come out firing in big road win
From the University of Arkansas
arkansasrazorbacks.com
SEARCY — Any concerns about how the Marion boys basketball team would respond to its first conference loss of the season were forgotten quickly here last Friday night.
Marion was locked in from the start, leading Searcy 16-3 after the first quarter en route to a 57-30 conference victory inside Lion Arena.
The Patriots (14-5 overall, 2-1 5A East) slipped Searcy by allowing the hosts to make just three of its 15 first-half field goal attempts, while Marion connected on 11 of 23 in the same time frame.
Eight Marion players scored at Searcy, led by junior Chandler Randle's game-high 15 points, while Mikell “Twin” Lewis scored 12 points and Jalen Neal finished with 8.
Lewis collected six rebounds, while Jackson Black snatched four and Mykal Knighten recorded five caroms.
Marion's defensive intensity was obvious from the opening
See PATS, page A10
Photo by Eryn Edwards PATS
From page A7
jump ball, as the Patriots allowed the Lions to make just one field goal in the first quarter, while the Pats forced six Searcy turnovers.
Randle canned a pair of threepointers in the first eight minutes to help the Pats out to that sizable 16-3 lead after a quarter.
That's when Neal came up with six of Marion's eight points while Searcy lost the ball six more times in the same frame as the Pats led 2411 at halftime.
Searcy worked the Marion lead down to under 10 points midway through the third, but Randle and Lewis scored nine and eight points, respectively, in the third period alone to help the Pats claim a 44-16 lead entering period No. 4.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion plays at Batesville on Friday, Jan. 24, with the junior varsity boys contest tipping at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls game and the varsity boys.
You can watch the varsity girls and boys games for free on MarionPatriots.com, on the MPAN YouTube channel, or on the MPAN mobile app.
5A EAST RESULTS
Marion 57, Searcy 30 Nettleton 86, Greene Co. Tech 80 Valley View 59, W. Memphis 58 Paragould 71, Batesville 59
5A EAST STANDINGS
Nettleton 2-0 Valley View 2-0 Marion 2-1 Greene Co. Tech 2-1 W. Memphis 1-2 Paragould 1-2 Batesville 0-2 Searcy 0-2 Top four teams make state tournament at Greene Co.
Tech.
