Patriots and Blue Devils tip off Conference play tonight

Patriots and Blue Devils tip off Conference play tonight

West Memphis, Marion take cross-town rivalry to the Lehr Arena hard court

By the Times Sports Staff

sports@theeveningtimes .com

It might not be as storied a rivalry as the annual Patriots vs. Blue Devils football games have been over the past decade-anda- half, but the Marion vs.

West Memphis basketball game tonight is sure to have Lehr Arena rocking with fans from both sides of the tracks on Highway 77.

The Blue Devils are riding high after winning the Gold Bracket Championship in the 64th Annual Neosho Holiday Classic in Joplin, Missouri, over the Christmas break.

West Memphis beat Mitchell High School 6150 last Saturday to bring the title back to Arkansas, thanks in large part to the play of tournament MVP, 6-foot-6 junior Blue Devils forward Chris Moore.

The win boosted West Memphis’s record to 12-2 ahead of tonight’s Class 6A Conference play clash.

Moore finished three assists shy of a triple-double, scoring a game-high 23 points, pulling down 15 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Oh, he also had a game-high four blocks on the defensive end.

“He is the one that takes us to the promised land,” said Blue Devils’s coach Marcus Brown said. “He did a heck of a job putting the team on his back. …

He has grown tremendously in his leadership. He is a heck of a basketball player, but is an even better person.”

But the Patriots will be no pushovers when they invade enemy territory this evening.

While coming up short in the semifinals, Marion overwhelmed Izard County in the third-place consolation game in the High- land Holiday Basketball Classic. The Izard County Cougars were no match for the Patriots’s offensive onslaught. Marion was stingy on defense as well as the Pats cruised to a 91-70 victory last Saturday afternoon. The win moved the Patriots up to 7-3 on the young season, with two of those losses coming to a very tough nationally-ranked Olive Branch, Mississippi squad in a home-and-home ahead of conference play last month.

The action tonight will also feature a showdown between the Lady Patriots (7-5) and Lady Blue Devils (6-3). The Lady Pats had a successful run in the 68th Annual Sandra Meadows Classic Duncanville, Texas, while the Lady Devils are coming off a 61 -58 win against the Gravette Lady Lions in the Lendel Thomas Classic in Harrison.

Junior Varsity action begins at 4 p.m. The Lady Pats vs. Lady Devils game is set for 6 p.m., with the Blue Devils and Patriots tipping off at 7 p.m.

Left: Patriot junior guard Detrick Reeves (0) nails a floater over the Olive Branch defense. Right: Blue Devil phenom Chris Moore (2) soars toward the basket against Little Rock Parkview. Marion and West Memphis clash tonight in both teams’ conference opener.

File photos

Left: Lady Patriot sophomore guard Moriah Robinson (33) makes a tough shot over an Olive Branch defender. Right: Lady Devil Kenya Freeman (23) floats for a jumper in recent action. The teams take the court against one another inside Lehr Arena at 6 p.m. tonight.

File photos