One of the defining moments of Marion's 2022-2023 basketball season was a dominant 63-30 January victory at Paragould. Injuries have prevented the Patriots from hitting that stride as often over the last three weeks, but Tuesday night's fourth quarter against Paragould, this time in the friendly confines of Fidelity Bank Arena, showed that the Pats still have another gear that most teams do not. Marion forced eight Paragould turnovers in the decisive frame while limiting preventing the Rams from hitting a field goal for more than six minutes of game time, to pound Paragould 63-44 and clinch the outright 5A East conference title on Senior Night. Marion also outrebounded Paragould 11-4 in the fourth. "We're finally getting some of our key guys back," said Marion coach David Clark. "We have had some guys miss a lot of time here lately with injuries, but getting J. White (Jalen White) and Ant (Anthony Wilson) back tonight was crucial. They still aren't 100 percent with some nagging stuff, but it's a different look and feel with them out there.” Ten Patriots (24-6 overall, 13-0 5A East) scored against Paragould, led by junior David Brewer's 17 points, including four three-pointers, while senior guard Martavius Davis checked in with 15 points, and sophomore guard Lyndell Buckingham rounded out the top scorers with 10 points and seven assists. Paragould (12-16, 6-7) got 14 points from Jesse Beliew, nine from Gavin Hall, and eight from Nate Brittingham. Marion started fast, scoring the game's first six points, and the Pats settled for a 14-11 bulge after the initial eight minutes. Brewer led a Marion long-range display in the second quarter, making a pair of triples, as the Pats made four of seven from long range in that frame. Marion took its first double-digit lead (22-11) of the night when Buckingham turned an offensive rebound into a layup with 4:17 left, and the hosts led 32-20 at the halftime intermission. The Patriots led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but Paragould hit the comeback trail by making all six of its field-goal attempts in the third period. The Rams took a bite out of the big Marion lead by embarking on a 14-5 run to close the stanza, getting the Rams within 45-37 after three. Marion led 49-39 midway through the fourth quarter when the Pats smacked the Rams with a deciding 11-0 run. The spurt began when Mitrell Lewis and Davis each hit a pair of free throws, followed by Buckingham splitting a pair, and Lewis checking in with a layup. Davis, who made all 6 of his fourth-quarter free-throw attempts, added a short jumper, and Marion's lead hit 22 points late in the final frame. Marion connected on 10 of its 12 free throws in the final eight minutes as the hosts pulled away down the stretch. Marion's active defense neutralized the Paragould offense, allowing a pair of Brittingham free throws with 7:07 left in the game, but the Pats did not allow the Rams to hit a fourth-quarter field goal until Cole Chipman hit a layup with 1:51 remaining to trim the Marion lead to 60-41. Chipman accounted for Paragould's only other fourth-quarter field goal with 59 seconds left when he hit a three-pointer. The victory completed a 7-1 home schedule this season for Marion, the lone defeat a 50-43 decision to Class 6A power Jonesboro on January 21, but the Patriots overwhelmed league opponents at Fidelity Bank Arena, finishing 7-0, outscoring opponents by almost 23 points per outing. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion concludes its regular season on Friday night at Valley View (9-13 overall, 6-7 5A East). Marion downed Valley View 58-23 on January 27 at home. Due to limited space at Valley View's arena, the Marion Patriots Activities Network will not be showing the ballgame, but MPAN will provide Valley View's home broadcast as soon as it is available. RANKINGS RUNDOWN Marion again claimed the No. 1 spot in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's comprehensive weekly Class 5A rankings. The Patriots are No. 5 in the ADG's Overall Top 10 rankings and ScoreBookLive's weekly Top 25 rankings. STATE TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK Marion will be the No. 1 seed from the 5A East in this season's Class 5A state tournament at Pine Bluff. The Patriots open their run at the state title on Tuesday, February 28 at 8:30 p.m. against the No. 4 team from the 5A West. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM FEBRUARY 21 Marion 63, Paragould 44 Nettleton 49, Valley View 44 Greene Co. Tech 52, W. Memphis 40 Searcy 77, Batesville 63 5A EAST STANDINGS ON FEBRUARY 22 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD (Top 4 teams make playoffs) Marion 13-0*+ Nettleton 11-2* Greene Co. Tech 6-7 Searcy 6-7 Paragould 6-7 Valley View 6-7 W. Memphis 4-10 Batesville 1-12 *clinched playoff berth +clinched conference title