WEST MEMPHIS --- It's only natural for team coaches, players, and other personnel to peek at the schedule and see Marion's big ballgame Tuesday night at Nettleton and lose sight of the task at hand. For one quarter on Friday night at West Memphis, the Marion Patriots may have lost focus for a moment. But for the other three frames, Marion was unrivaled. Marion allowed just 10 West Memphis field goal makes combined in the first, third, and fourth quarters, and the Patriots scored the game's first nine points and led by as many as 24 points in the fourth period before settling for a 56-42 victory that doubled as Marion's 12th win in 13 tries against West Memphis, including the last 10 in succession. “It feels really good to win a rivalry game two times in a season,” said first-year Marion coach Emmanuel Wade, who played college basketball at Ole Miss and coached Marianna to the 2021 state title. “We worked on some stuff the last few days, and our guys responded well. The offense was much better tonight, and the defense remained really good. I'm fairly happy tonight.” Marion (14-3 overall, 7-1 5A East) remained tied for first place in the 5A East with the victory at West Memphis, and the Patriots got 12 points from senior guard David Brewer's, 10 points, and seven rebounds from LaDaryl Robinson, nine points and six boards from Jalen White, and eight points from Mikell Lewis. West Memphis (11-13, 4-4) lost despite getting eight points from Da'Veyon Glenn, and seven apiece from Cam Holmes and Deangelo Craig. Marion hit the hosts with an immediate 9-0 run to open the game, with Lewis scoring the first five, followed by a Kayden Nesbitt floater, and a Robinson layup that capped the run with 2:46 left in the first quarter. A Brewer layup gave Marion a 15-4 lead that doubled as the tally after a quarter. "Loved everything about how we came out in the first," said Wade. "Everything we talked about leading up to the game, we did." West Memphis slowed the Marion barrage in the second stanza, forcing eight Patriot turnovers, and allowing the visitors to make just three field goals. The Blue Devils got within 19-15 with 57 seconds left in the first half when Glenn canned a pair of free throws, but Marion scored the last five points of the half when White made a free throw, Lyndell Buckingham hit a pair of charities, and Robinson beat the halftime buzzer with a layup for a 24-15 lead heading to the lockers. Marion added to its lead in the third period by driving to the basket and making eight of 12 free throws in the period. Brewer pushed the Pats back in front by double-digits when he opened the third-period scoring with a three-pointer, the start of what would become a game-deciding 14-5 run, and Marion led 38-20 after three quarters. A Robinson stickback gave Marion its first 20-point lead at 44-24 with 5:41 left in regulation, and the Patriot lead plateaued at 24 points in the fourth quarter following a pair of White free throws. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues its most significant stretch of the 2023-2024 season this week with a Tuesday road trip to Nettleton, and a Friday visit to Searcy. Both games will tip around 6 p.m. with the girls game, followed by the boys game at approximately 7:30 p.m. The Nettleton and Searcy games will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 2/2 Marion 56, W. Memphis 42 Nettleton 72, Greene Co. Tech 60 Searcy 78, Paragould 49 Valley View 66, Batesville 36 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 2/5 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 7-1 Nettleton 7-1 Valley View 6-2 Searcy 4-4 W. Memphis 4-4 Greene Co. Tech 1-7 Paragould 1-7 Batesville 1-7 5A EAST GAMES ON 2/6 Marion at Nettleton W. Memphis at Searcy Greene Co. Tech at Batesville Paragould at Valley View