WEST MEMPHIS --- The stage was set for a letdown. Playing its second game in three nights, against a team it had vanquished in January by 25 points, the Marion Patriots waltzed into an ambush on Thursday at Lehr Arena. Crittenden County rival West Memphis dictated the pace in the first quarter for a 12-9 lead. Rather than fold, Marion (22-5 overall, 10-1 5A East) went to work on defense for a 46-32 victory over West Memphis (14-9, 6-5). Marion harassed West Memphis into a chilly 10 of 39 showing from the floor, including an 0 for five performance in the second quarter, and one for nine in the fourth quarter. Marion forced 22 West Memphis turnovers. Marion's victory clinches no worse than the No. 2 seed at the state tournament in March in Sheridan. The Pats could move up to the No. 1 should they win out and Jonesboro loses two of its final three outings. It's the eighth Marion victory in nine tries against West Memphis, and the fourth consecutive for the Patriots at Lehr Arena. Marion's 25-point victory in January over West Memphis, and Thursday night's 16-point win, are the two largest Marion margins of victory over the Blue Devils since the series tipped off in time for the 2006-2007 season. West Memphis killed almost a minute from the game clock in the first quarter on its first possession, and the deliberate Blue Devils claimed a pair of six-point leads in the opening frame. A 6-0 Marion run tied the game at nine before West Memphis junior guard Chico Washington beat the first-quarter buzzer with a corner three-pointer for a 12-9 Blue Devil lead after the initial eight minutes. Marion's aggressive man-to-man defense turned the game in the second quarter, when the Patriots forced six Blue Devil turnovers. The Patriot defense held the fort as Ryan Forrest went to work. The junior guard scored the first seven points of the second quarter to give the Pats a 15-12 lead with 5:43 remaining in the first half. Marion wouldn't trail again. Junior Jayden Forrest canned a jumper to beat the halftime buzzer, Marion led 17-14 at the break. Marion hit West Memphis with a 10-0 run to open the third quarter. That spurt opened when Kayden Nesbitt followed a missed layup with a stickback, followed by a Terrion Burgess layup. Jayden Forrest got to the hoop for a layup prior to a Burgess jump shot and a Nesbitt layup pushed the Pats in front 27-14 with 5:34 left in the third stanza, and Marion settled for a 34-24 lead to start the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils shaved the Marion lead to single digits early in the fourth quarter when Kam Barnes hit a free throw, but Nesbitt responded with a stickback layup that he turned into a three-point play for a 39-26 Marion lead. Nesbitt got loose on the baseline and hit a layup with 3:23 remaining to give the Pats a 41-27 lead. Jayden Forrest led all players with 17 points and eight assists, and he pulled down seven rebounds. Ryan Forrest hit for 12 points, while Burgess and Nesbitt each hit for eight. Kam Barnes fueled the West Memphis attack with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Davion Ivy hit for seven. Marion hosts Greene County Tech tonight at Fidelity Bank Arena. Tip of the girls game is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by the boys game at approximately 7:30. The girls and boys varsity games will be streamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.