PARAGOULD --- Perhaps the defining trait of the 2024-2025 Marion boys basketball team is resiliency. Playing under a third coach in as many seasons, Marion ripped off a stellar 12-4 mark in non-conference play. After a pair of January 5A East losses, including a rare home defeat, Marion sat at 4-2 and in third place in the league standings. But the Patriots gelled from there, winning their last eight conference games to claim the outright 5A East title, a dominant victory over El Dorado in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament. The Pats may have saved their grittiest best for Thursday night. Playing in the first boys quarterfinal contest of the 2025 state tournament, Marion swapped haymakers with the Sylvan Hills Bears inside Greene County Tech's Eagle Arena, eventually topping the Bears 54-50 to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2022. Marion (26-6 overall) got a game-high 17 points with six rebounds from senior Mikell Lewis, 12 points and seven boards from junior Chandler Randle, 10 points and six boards from Jalen Neal, nine points and six assists from Dexter Higgins, Jr., and six points and six rebounds from Jackson Black. Sylvan Hills got 14 points from Deryeus Fowlkes, 10 from Devonte' West, and seven from P.J. Davis. The Bears made half of their 12 field goals in the first quarter, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from West, and Sylvan Hills claimed a 16-12 lead entering the second stanza. Marion countered and took a second-quarter lead on a Black layup with 2:14 left in the quarter, and the teams accepted a 26-26 tie at halftime. A Lewis dunk preceded a Higgins steal and layup, and when Black turned an offensive rebound into a layup, a 6-0 Marion run gave the Pats a 34-29 lead, and when Neal hit a long jumper, it was 36-29, and MHS enjoyed a slim 38-36 lead entering the fourth period. The final frame featured four lead changes and two ties, but Marion took the lead for good when Neal made a free throw, and Lewis closed out Sylvan Hills with five points down the stretch, including a dunk off an inbounds play. Marion made five of seven free throws in the fourth quarter to punch its ticket to Saturday's semifinal. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion will play in the state semifinals at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon against the winner of the Benton-Little Rock Christian game at Greene County Tech's Eagle Arena. You can watch the Marion state semifinal game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel, at MarionPatriots.com, or on the MPAN mobile app.