The Marion Patriots have outclassed their competition so far this season in the friendly confines of Fidelity Bank Arena. Tuesday night against Batesville was no different. The Patriots improved to 14-4 overall and 4-0 in the 5A East in 2022 by busting Batesville 75-45 at home. Marion, which outscores its opponents by more than 25 points per game so far this season at home, hit Batesville with an 18-2 run spanning the second and third quarters to pull away from its league rival. "We tried to switch some stuff up and play some young guys tonight," said Marion coach David Clark. "I plan on using the whole bench. For every team it's a different strategy and gameplan, and the guys we used tonight came through for us. A lot of people don't realize how deep we actually are." The Patriots led 18-12 after the first quarter, but Batesville trimmed that advantage to 20-17 with 5:56 left in the second quarter on a Logan McSpadden jumper. That's when Marion junior guard Ryan Forrest scored three points, including a highlight-reel dunk, to push the Marion lead to 23-17 with 2:23 in the second quarter. Jayden Forrest, cousin to Ryan, hit for seven straight Marion points, to give the Pats their first double-digit lead (30-19) with 50.4 seconds left in the first half. The Pats led 32-19 at the break. Ryan Forrest exploded for the first six points of the second half as the Pats claimed a 38-19 lead with 6:33 left in the third, and Marion led 51-34 entering the fourth quarter. The Patriots put the game out of reach in the final frame with a 12-0 spurt, culminating with a Jayden Forrest layup that gave Marion a 69-41 lead with 3:47 left in the game. Marion triggered the mercy rule when Kayden Nesbit scored on a stickback with 35 seconds left in the contest. Ryan Forrest led all scorers with 25 points, while Jayden Forrest hit for 23 points, six assists and five rebounds. Darrion Love added seven points. John Thomas Morgan paced Batesville with 15 points, while Wes Lange pumped in nine. Marion plays Friday night at Greene County Tech, with tip scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. The boys and girls varsity games will be streamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.