Marion coach David Clark painstakingly watches the fourth quarter of his team's eventual 37-30 loss on February 25 to Jonesboro. "These are the type of things we can't do and win this type of ballgame," said Clark. "They're too good, and we just aren't there yet." Clark's Patriots almost grounded Jonesboro on senior night in the regular-season finale at Fidelity Bank Arena. Along the way, Marion (25-7 overall) held the Golden Hurricane (27-3) to their season-low point total, while limiting Jonesboro to a two of 17 shooting performance in the first half. Marion led Jonesboro by four points with less than three minutes left in the game. Marion will get a third chance to topple Jonesboro at 1:45 on Thursday afternoon in the Class 5A state championship game. The Patriots will play for a state final for the third time in school history (1993 and 2019) and should Marion win, it would be the Pats' second state title in four seasons. Defending Class 5A champion Jonesboro has not lost since December, and the Golden Hurricane has not dropped a game to an in-state team since Class 6A juggernaut North Little Rock topped Jonesboro 87-83 on December 29, 2020. So how does Marion flip the script and snap its four-game losing streak to Jonesboro? "We need to clean up our defensive mistakes and turnovers, and rebound the ball better," said Clark. "We want to be more aggressive with Jonesboro. We want to match their physicality in every aspect." The second Jonesboro game of the regular season sticks in Clark's craw, but the first meeting in Jonesboro may have turned the season around. The Patriots absorbed their worst loss of the year, a 56-35 defeat that Marion played without three regular rotation players, including two starters. Marion committed a season-high 26 turnovers at Jonesboro, but the Pats were still within two points late in the first half before the Golden Hurricane closed the second quarter on a 15-2 run to take control of the contest. "It's always a chess match playing Jonesboro, it's almost as much mental as it is physical," said Clark. "We have to figure out the weaknesses just as much as the strengths of the other team." Senior Oklahoma State signee Quion Williams leads Jonesboro in scoring, often coming off the bench to spark the reserve unit. Williams scored 11 points for Jonesboro in January, and he led all scorers with 19 points in the February meeting. Jonesboro guards Jesse Washington and Kavon Pointer are threats to drive and also hit a high percentage of three-pointers. Jonesboro's top shooter may be Isaac Harrell. Expect Marion to start juniors Donnie Cheers, Jayden Forrest, Ryan Forrest, and freshman Terrion Burgess. Seniors Donte Moore or Omarion Jefferson have most often been Marion's fifth starter this season.