Patriots split with Bombers

Patriots split with Bombers

Marion boys win thriller, Girls fall to Moun tain Home By Tyler Bennett

Marion School District The Marion Patriots split their games with the Mountain Home Bombers on Tuesday in yet another difficult road trip to Baxter County. Marion’s boys (11-3 overall, 4-0 conference) survived another thriller to remain undefeated in conference play, but the Lady Patriots (10-8,2-2) had a tough night from the field.

Despite a pair of early fouls charged to senior forward Timothy Ceaser, the Patriots held serve with the Bombers (6-10, 1-3) after the first quarter.

Both teams started slow, but were tied at 12 after the first eight minutes.

“I wasn’t concerned when (Ceaser) had to go out because we’ve got young guys that are ready to play,” said Marion head coach David Clark.

“Jaqualyn Daniel stepped up tonight and Jonathan Johnson gave us some good minutes too.

Both teams got comfortable in the second quarter and settled into their preferred styles of play.

Marion owned the glass while the Bombers started making three pointers, but both teams ended the quarter in another tie and went to the locker rooms tied at 25.

The Patriots, led by junior guard Detrick Reeves with 28 points, came out of the half strong and led by as many as seven in the third. However, the Bombers ability to make the long ball kept them in the game and limited the Marion lead to 36-32 heading into the final frame.

Starting with a 40-40 tie with two and half minutes left in regulation, the teams would trade baskets until the Bombers took a 47-45 lead with 37 seconds left. Reeves then nailed a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game at 47, something Coach Clark said he was proud of.

“Detrick grew up in this game in my mind,” said Clark. “He made some big shots, but he also made those clutch free throws when we were trailing late in the game. He missed some late against Olive Branch that could have won the game, but he was in the gym early today and heading to the goal, but he knocked them down.”

The play of the game came on the inbound play after Reeves’ free throws.

Reeves and fellow junior guard Makyi Boyce were able to force a turnover at mid court that Boyce was able to steal away. Boyce was covered by a defender he was still able to find Reeves who made a wide open lay up to put the Pats up by two with less than 20 seconds in the game.

Mountain Home turned the ball over again on their next possession, then Reeves would make one more free throw to put 28 points. Reeves also made victory.

Marion up 50-47 with 7.7 seconds left. Mountain Home would miss their final attempt to go to overtime, giving Marion their fourth conference win of the season.

“It’s a good win, but I thought we still left a lot on the court,” said Clark.

“I’ve told my guys before three clutch free throws

that just because we’re at the top of the standings doesn’t mean we can get comfortable. We still need to play like the hunters instead of the ones being hunted.”

The Lady Patriots and Lady Bombers (10-7,2-2) both had tough nights shooting from the field, but early foul trouble and a rough night in the paint for Marion opened the door enough for the Lady Bombers. Junior guard Keiana Delaney had the only basket of the first quarter for the Lady Pats, who trailed 8-2 after the first. Junior guard Joi Montgomery was the leading scorer for the Lady Pats, finishing with 15 points.

Mountain Home kept up their intense defense for the remainder of the game. Marion was unable to keep up with the Lady Bombers offense. The 4035 loss gave the Lady Pats their third loss in the early conference schedule.

The Patriots will be back at home tonight against Greene County Tech. The Golden Eagles are 13-3 overall, but 2-2 in conference play, with wins against Searcy and Mountain Home, but losses to Nettleton and Jonesboro.

The Lady Eagles (8-7, 1-3) won both meetings against the Lady Pats last year. Tip-off time for the games at Patriot Arena is set for 6 p.m.

Detrick Reeves (#0) led all scorers Tuesday night with late against Mountain Home to help secure the Patriot

Photo by Tyler Bennett