Patriots lose lead late, fall to Raiders, 66-63
Patriots lose lead late, fall to Raiders, 66-63
Eruption of points in the 4th quarter pushes Nettleton past Marion
sports@theeveningtimes.com
The Marion Patriots (4-3 overall, 2-2 5A/6A East Conference) fell to the Nettleton Raiders (6-4, 22) 66-63.
The Patriots carried a 5point lead into the fourth quarter of play before falling victim to a 27-point offensive explosion in the fourth quarter by the Raiders.
Momentum began to shift late in that fourth quarter, according to Patriots Head Coach Irving Clay, when Patriots lead scorer Shaun Doss got a technical foul.
The Raiders capitalized by sinking both free throws, converting a turnover into points and coming away with a 6-0 run.
“We just couldn’t recover,” Clay said. Once again, the Patriots looked impressive offensively, scoring 60 points or more for their fourth consecutive game, but could not make big plays on the defensive side of the ball.
“The defense just wasn’t there late in the ball game,” Clay said. “We just have to play a complete ball game.”
One reason for the Patriots defensive struggles is that some of their key defensive players are getting into foul trouble too early and too often, according to Clay. Center Timothy Ceaser, who has fouled out in three games so far this season, missed five minutes in the first half after being charged with his second personal foul in the first quarter.
“Our biggest problem is that when our bigs get in foul trouble they have to sit and that hurts us a lot,” Clay said. “When you’re a rim protector you get in foul trouble and have to sit out then they can drive the ball to the basket easily.”
The Nettleton offense also shot effectively from outside the paint. A pivotal factor of the fourth quarter was the Raiders ability to drain the three ball, according to Clay.
Nettleton sank three consecutive three pointers’ during their 27 point fourth quarter, despite what Clay acknowledged was decent perimeter defense by the Patriots.
Pumping in 25, Doss once again led the Patriots in points. Ceaser pushed in 18 points in limited minutes due to foul trouble and Keyshawn Woods contributed 14 points in the Patriots loss to Nettleton.
After starting the season 3-1, the Patriots are now 12 in their last three games including consecutive conference losses.
“You can’t take that to heart,” Clay said. “You have to move on and be ready for the next game.
It’s still early. We have about 14 conference games to go. So, no need to panic.”
Don’t expect to see any difference in the Patriots style of play going forward as Clay intends only to sharpen the game plan his players are already familiar with.
“We’re not going to change anything,” Clay said. “We just need to be better at what we do and better in practice.
Individual efforts turn into team efforts. So, we need our individuals to get right in order for our team to get right.”
Due to Christmas break, the Patriots only have one practice to fine tune those skills before their next matchup. Marion plays next in the Bartlett Holiday Tournament. The Patriots first game of the tournament will be on December 27th in Bartlett at 5 p.m.
By Collins Peeples
