JONESBORO --- After nearly three quarters of Friday night's showdown at Valley View, it seemed that Marion had finally solved the stout Blazer defense. Junior point guard Lyndell Buckingham had tied the game at 29 with 15 seconds left in the third period. After a steal in the backcourt led to a wide-open David Brewer three-pointer, the visitors stunned the Blazer Arena faithful as Marion took a 32-29 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Things got even better when Brewer hit a runner to push the Patriot advantage to 34-29 with 6:57 left in regulation. But Valley View took over from there, ripping off a 9-0 run in the fourth period, as Marion did not score for almost six minutes of game time as the Blazers rallied past the Pats for a 42-36 victory. Marion made just two of its 10 field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter. The Patriots connected on just 14 of 44 field goals for the game and just three of 19 from three-point range. Valley View (13-8 overall, 4-2 5A East) got a game-high 16 points with six rebounds from Hudson Rogers, while Oliver Barr and Josh Burnett hit 10 points apiece. Buckingham and Kayden Nesbitt scored eight points apiece for Marion (12-3, 5-1), while Brewer and LaDaryl Robinson added seven each. Junior Mikell Lewis racked up six rebounds for Marion, while Nesbitt and Robinson pulled down four apiece. Marion took an early 7-3 lead in the first quarter when Lewis canned a three-pointer, Jalen White and Robinson each split a pair of free throws, and Nesbitt scored on a layup, but the Blazers got within 7-5 when Rogers hit a layup with less than four seconds left in the frame. Burnett hit a three and Rogers connected on a long jumper to give the Blazers a 10-7 lead early in the second frame when Marion made just one of its 10 shots from the floor. Valley View fashioned a 13-8 lead late in the second stanza when Barr made a free throw, but the Pats got within 13-12 at halftime when Nesbitt hit a layup and Buckingham hit a pair of free throws in the last minute of the half. Marion got its offense on track in the third period against Valley View's zone, making nine of 15 field goals, including its last two when Buckingham hit a short jumper, came up with a steal in the backcourt on the ensuing Valley View possession, and found Brewer for a three-pointer that beat the buzzer to give the Patriots a 32-29 lead after three quarters. Brewer hit a runner on Marion's first possession of the fourth quarter for a 34-29 lead, but the Patriots would not score again for more than six minutes. Valley View took advantage of the Marion drought by ripping off a 9-0 run that began when Burnett hit a pair of free throws, Rogers scored in the paint and hit a three-pointer, and Gavin Ellis capped the run with a layup for a 38-34 bulge with 54.2 seconds remaining. A Brewer runner with 35.9 seconds left snapped the Marion cold spell, but the Blazers got an Ellis reverse layup and two Burnett free throws to cap the scoring. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion hosts Batesville on Tuesday night inside Fidelity Bank Arena, and the varsity girls contest will tip at approximately 6 p.m., followed by the boys game around 7:30 p.m. The Batesville ballgames will be broadcast on MarionPatriots.com and the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 1/26 Valley View 42, Marion 36 Nettleton 60, Searcy 54 Paragould 68, Greene Co. Tech 62 W. Memphis 60, Batesville 49 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 1/29 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 5-1 Nettleton 5-1 Valley View 4-2 W. Memphis 4-2 Searcy 2-4 Paragould 2-4 Greene Co. Tech 1-5 Batesville 1-5 Top four teams make state tournament in Searcy 5A EAST SCHEDULE ON 1/30 Batesville at Marion Greene Co. Tech at Searcy Valley View at W. Memphis Nettleton at Paragould