JONESBORO --- For most of the second half, everything had gone almost exactly to plan for the Marion Patriots. The Pats had weathered an early storm inside Nettleton's Raider Gymnasium in a head-to-head showdown between two teams tied at the top of the 5A East standings, rallying in the second quarter a halftime lead. Marion extended its lead after three quarters to five points and enjoyed a seven-point lead with 6:29 left following a David Brewer three-pointer. From that point on, disaster struck the fightin' Pats. Explosive Nettleton guard Taylor Smith scored 14 of his game-high 28 points after Brewer's three-pointer, powering the Raiders to a dramatic 66-59 home victory that gives Nettleton sole possession of first place in the 5A East boys race, and drops Marion into a tie for second place with Valley View, a team that beat the Pats in January. Marion hosts Valley View on February 23 for Senior Night to wind up conference play. The Raiders (16-8 overall, 8-1 5A East) rode Smith's 27 points and 18 from Jakobe Jamison to victory. Marion (14-4 7-2) got 19 points from Lyndell Buckingham, who also handed out seven assists, 12 points from David Brewer, and 11 points and eight rebounds from Jalen White. Nettleton ambushed Marion in the first quarter, hitting the Pats with an early 8-3 run that became a 16-9 lead after the game's initial eight minutes. But the Pats tightened up in the second quarter, hitting the hosts with a 10-2 lead to take a 19-18 lead with 3:42 left in the first half. White carried Marion to halftime, scoring six points in the last 2:21 of the second quarter as the Pats earned a 27-24 lead heading to the lockers. A see-saw third period played out, but Buckingham beat the third quarter with a layup that gave the visitors a 43-38 lead entering period No. 4. Marion twice took a seven-point lead in the fourth period, first when Buckingham hit a pair of free throws with 7:51 left, and on Brewer's three-pointer with 6:29 remaining. But that sparked a decisive 10-0 Raider run that ended with the hosts nursing a 53-50 lead with 3:57 left in the contest. A Buckingham layup got Marion within one with 3:15 left, but Smith scored on a runner, he hit a three-pointer, and he made a pair of free throws down the stretch to help Nettleton to the finish line. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues 5A East play on Friday night when it travels to play Searcy. The varsity girls contest will tip off around 6:10 p.m., followed by the boys varsity at approximately 7:30 p.m. The girls and boys varsity contests at Searcy will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 2/6 Nettleton 66, Marion 59 Valley View 87, Paragould 66 Batesville 54, Greene Co. Tech 48 W. Memphis 55, Searcy 42 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 2/7 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Nettleton 8-1 MARION 7-2 Valley View 7-2 W. Memphis 5-4 Searcy 4-5 Batesville 2-7 Paragould 2-7 Greene Co. Tech 1-8 5A EAST GAMES ON 2/9 Marion at Searcy Batesville at Paragould Valley View at Greene Co. Tech Nettleton at W. Memphis