Patriots ready to rumble with Raiders

Patriots ready to rumble with Raiders

Marion travels to Jonesboro tonight to face off against conference rival Nettleton

sports@theeveningtimes.com

The Marion Patriots (4-2 overall, 2-1 conference) travel to Jonesboro tonight to battle against the Nettleton Raiders (5-4, 1-2) in a 5A/6A East Conference matchup.

The Patriots suffered their first conference loss of the season this past weekend to the Wynne Yellowjackets (4-4, 2-1). Not losing a second conference game is of the utmost importance, according to Marion Head Coach Irving Clay.

“It’s a conference game and we can’t squander another one,” Clay said. “We lost the one the other night to poor coaching. It will be huge, tremendous and gigantic if we can go into Jonesboro and get a win against Nettleton.”

Clay emphasizes that the Patriots, a 6A school, must not overlook the Raiders despite Nettleton being a smaller 5A school.

“They’re a good team,” Clay said. “They got a good point guard and they play well together. Coach McCord has them playing well. It’s not a given (that we will win) just because their 5A. Wynne is 5A also. So, we can’t take them lightly. We’re going to win.”

The Patriots bounced back from their conference loss to the Yellowjackets to earn a much-needed 60-44 win against the Senatobia Warriors (4-8) in Columbus, Mississippi. That victory allowed the Patriots to get back into a positive mindset going into tonight’s game, according to Clay.

“That win should give us a lot of confidence because Senatobia is a big and athletic team,” Clay said. “It was a tough environment, playing out of state. We had to make adjustments. We learned we have to execute our offense and stay with what we do.”

The win in Senatobia improved the Patriots to 4-0 on the season away from Patriot Arena. Ironically, the Marion team is only 1-2 on their own hardwood this season. However, that stat should work out nicely as the team travels to Jonesboro tonight.

In order to improve to 5-0 on the road, executing fundamentals will be essential according to Clay. The Marion coach believes his team’s ability to rebound, play well on defense and make free throws will decide the winner of the game.

Making free throws is something the Patriots did not do well against the Yellowjackets. The team shot a collective 64 percent from the charity stripe during their last conference contest.

The 5A/6A East Conference action between the road-tested Patriots and the Nettleton Raiders tips off tonight in Jonesboro at 5:00 p.m.

By Collins Peeples