Patriots to play for State Championship

Patriots to play for State Championship

Marion runs through bracket to set up title game with Little Rock Hall

Marion School District The Marion Patriots (24-3 overall) are headed to their first state championship game in basketball since 1993. The 5A East champions used strong second half performances in all three of their games in Lake Hamilton to earn a trip to Bank OZK Arena.

In all three games, the Pats would keep the game close in the first half, with many fans taking to social media, worrying about the pace of play. However, the second half of all three games would see Marion clamp down defensively and shut their opponents down.

“They’re sticking together,” Coach David Clark said Thursday about what has impressed him the most about his team. “No matter what gets thrown at them, they’re doing a great job preparing for these teams and they believe in each other.”

Their week started with a Tuesday game against the Benton Panthers (14-12), the four-seed from the 5A South. The Pats only led 12-11 after the first quarter and gave up some three-pointers in the second quarter to keep the Panthers in the game.

After leading 30-27 at halftime, the Patriot defense showed up in the second half. Marion outscored Benton 30-12 in the second half, including a fourth quarter where the Panthers only scored two points: a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left in the game.

Marion senior center Timothy Ceaser was the leading scorer of the game with 17 points. Senior guard Keyshawn Woods finished with 14 points and junior guard Detrick Reeves had 11 points.

Thursday’s quarterfinal game was a rematch from November as the Pats took on the Parkview Patriots (18-10), the three-seed from the 5A Central. Marion won the first meeting in Little Rock’s Battle of the Barrow tournament. Thursday’s game was also the return of senior forward Tristan Haymon after a hand injury. Haymon started the game, but played limited minutes to make sure he did not put too much strain on his hand.

“It’s sore, it was hard to catch the ball, but I helped my team the best I could,” Haymon said about the hand after Thursday’s game. “I was able to get some stops on defense and that was one of my goals.”

Marion scored the first five points of Thursday’s game, but it would be Parkview with a 10-9 lead after the first quarter.

Marion would outscore Parkview 14-10 in the second quarter, including a two-handed dunk from Ceaser at the end of the second quarter to take a 2320 lead into the break.

Parkview never quit in the second half, but Marion seemed to figure out the 3-2 zone as they outscored Parkview 35-30 in the final two quarters for the 58-50 final score. Ceaser was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks.

The win set Marion up for a Saturday meeting with the tournament’s host team and 5A South champion Lake Hamilton Wolves (25-3). It was the first time the Patriots had been to the semifinals since they hosted the tournament in 2011.

The two conference champions would prove their titles with great shooting performances in the first quarter as the Pats took a 16-15 lead into the second quarter. The defenses seemed to settle down in the second as Marion outscored the Wolves 10-8 in the quarter to take a 26-23 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was also tightly contested with Marion only outscoring the Wolves 18-17, but the Marion defense stood tall in the fourth quarter. The Pats outscored Lake Hamilton 16-6 in the fourth quarter for the 60-46 final score.

Reeves was the leading scorer with 25 points.

Up next for the Pats is a trip to Bank OZK Arena for the 2019 5A State Championship. Marion will play the 5A Central champion Little Rock Hall Warriors (23-6). Tipoff on Thursday, March 7 is scheduled for 4 pm.

By Tyler Bennett