WEST MEMPHIS --- Marion senior guard Martavius Davis intercepted a West Memphis pass and saw classmate Donnie Cheers, III sprinting towards the opposing goal. Davis fired a picturesque pass to the streaking Cheers, who caught it in stride and elevated for a highlight-reel slam dunk in front of his classmates that populated the Marion student section at West Memphis's Lehr Arena. The Davis-to-Cheers connection capped a 48-38 Marion victory last Friday night in a contest that the visiting Patriots led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter. The 10-point conquest marked Marion's (11-5 overall, 1-0 5A East) ninth win in 10 tries against West Memphis (3-13, 0-1), including the last seven in a row. Five of the victories in that stretch have come by double digits. Marion bested West Memphis this time by flying around on defense. The Patriot defense smothered the Blue Devils through three quarters, as the hosts made just four of their 27 field goal attempts as Marion led 31-15 entering the final frame. “It might have been our second-best defensive game this year other than probably Overton, Tennessee (a 68-46 victory),” said Marion coach David Clark. “We want to build our program on defensive effort and intensity, and tonight was a really good example of that.” The Marion defensive effort was obvious from the jump, as the Patriots forced eight Blue Devil turnovers in the opening frame, and following a Chico Washington runner with 7:12 left in the first quarter, West Memphis did make another field goal until Isaac Granger scored on a layup with 1:39 left in the second quarter. By that time, Marion led 19-9, which doubled as the halftime score. Cheers and David Brewer carried the Marion offense in the first half, as both scored five points prior to the break. The Pats took the lead for good when a Kayden Nesbitt free throw gave the visitors a 6-5 lead with 4:34 left in the opening frame. Nesbitt's charity launched a beautiful 14-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters. The Marion eruption forced West Memphis to burn two timeouts and the Pats led 15-5 after the opening frame. Marion's largest lead of the first half hit 14 points (19-5) when Cheers connected on a pair of free throws, but West Memphis scored the final four points of the second stanza to trim the Patriot advantage to 19-9 at the break. Marion harassed West Memphis into just two-of-16 shooting before halftime, with 11 turnovers. The Pats outrebounded the Blue Devils 16-9 in the game's first two quarters. The Pats kept the hammer down in the third quarter, taking a 16-point lead (27-11) when junior Jalen White logged an offensive rebound and dunked it with one hand to the delight of the assembled MHS students. Six straight Marion points late in the third helped the Pats lead 31-15 to start the fourth quarter. Marion's finishing run started early in the fourth when Brewer scored on a layup, White hit a free throw, and Cheers scored on a stickback, a short jumper, and a layup, the latter giving Marion a 43-23 lead with 3:50 remaining. “We couldn't put the ball in the hole a lot of tonight, but that's where we dialed back in on defense,” said Clark. “We have gone on this run lately by getting after teams on defense for four quarters, and that's how we won again tonight.” Cheers scored a game-high 14 points, while White scored nine, and Brewer finished with eight. Granger led West Memphis with 10 points, while Aidan Barber pumped in nine. WHAT'S NEXT Top-ranked Marion travels on Tuesday night to No. 5 Nettleton for a game that many pundits believe could go a long way toward settling the 5A East title. The Nettleton contest will tip around 7:30 p.m. And will be broadcast on MarionPatriots.com. RANKINGS RUNDOWN After the Pats ' fifth straight victory, Marion maintained the top spot in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's comprehensive weekly high-school basketball rankings. Pine Bluff (11-6), Lake Hamilton (14-2), Russellville (13-3), Nettleton (12-4), and Vilonia (14-3) round out the prestigious top six. 5A EAST RESULTS Marion 48, West Memphis 38 Nettleton 68, Greene County Tech 64 Searcy 65, Paragould 63 Valley View 57, Batesville 44 5A EAST STANDINGS Marion 1-0 Nettleton 1-0 Searcy 1-0 Valley View 1-0 Batesville 0-1 Greene County Tech 0-1 Paragould 0-1 West Memphis 0-1