Patriots bash Benton to open Class 5A State Tournament

Patriots bash Benton to open Class 5A State Tournament

Marion takes on Little Rock Parkview in round two tonight

By Tyler Bennett

Marion School District After a competitive first half against the Benton Panthers (14-12 overall) the Marion Patriots (22-3) used a strong defensive effort in the second half to advance to the second round of the 5A playoffs.

The Pats held the Panthers to 12 points in the second half, including a near shutout in the fourth quarter.

With a bus-load of Marion students in the crowd at Lake Hamilton, the team seemed anxious to finally play a game in the tournament that Coach David Clark said has been on his mind since he came to Marion.

Clark said his team wasn’t focused in the first half of Tuesday’s game and that a wake up call was needed in the locker room. He also gave credit to the Marion fans that traveled to the game for giving his team extra life.

“Everybody wants to score in front of a crowd like that, we just forgot to play defense too,” Clark said about the first half.

“When we went into the locker rooms I reminded them that defenses win championships and we came out with a different mindset.”

The Patriots only led 1211 after the first quarter thanks to a trio of three pointers from the Panthers.

Marion’s plan to work in the paint began early with a heavy presence from seniors Timothy Ceaser and Keyshawn Woods.

Ceaser’s size advantage drew a lot of attention from the Benton defense, but he was able to take advantage of the press and go to the free throw line for a couple of three-point plays in the second quarter.

Benton’s star of the second quarter was sophomore Kolby Payne. Payne scored ten of his 12 in the second quarter. Marion would still manage to outscore the Panthers in the quarter 18-16 as they took a 30-27 lead into halftime.

Clark’s pep talk seemed to ignite the Patriot defense as the team outscored the Panthers 30-12 in the second half. Benton’s only points in the fourth quarter were a pair of free throws made with 27 seconds left in the game.

Ceaser led all scorers in the game with 17 points followed by Woods with 14 points. Junior Detrick Reeves also finished in double digits with 11 points and made a three pointer in the third quarter.

Coach Clark gave praise to all of his players after the game, saying it was a full team effort in the second half. He also said he expects senior forward Tristan Haymon to be back for Thursday’s game after missing two games with an injury, and that he loved the support from the Marion crowd.

“Tim had a dunk in front of our student section and they reacted so loudly, it was like a light switch turned on,” Clark said about the crowd. “Our support was unbelievable.”

The Patriots will play again Thursday night against the winner of the Greenbrier Panthers (21-6, 11-3 5A West) and Parkview Patriots (17-9, 95 5A Central) game on Wednesday. Greenbrier has two players listed at six feet seven inches tall and could offer an interesting matchup should Haymon return. Marion defeated Parkview 71-59 in the championship game of November’s ‘Battle of the Barrow’ tournament in Little Rock.

A live stream of Thursday’s game will be available for free at marionpatriots. com. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

Marion’s Timothy Ceaser (3) had 17 points in Tuesday’s state tournament win over Benton. The Patriots will take on LR Parkview tonight in the second round of the 2019 State Basketall Tournament.

Photo by Tyler Bennett