SEARCY --- Entering play on Friday night at Searcy, the 2024 Marion boys basketball team already had produced quite a good season, sitting 10 games above .500, very much alive for a second straight conference title, and essentially a lock for this season's state tournament. But Marion's coaching staff felt there was another gear to this team, and they've been biding their time waiting for their team to slap together their best game and play four complete quarters. They got it on Friday night at Searcy, where the Patriots led by as many as 50 points in the fourth quarter and trailed for less than two minutes in a 72-27 victory at Lion Arena. The Patriots (15-4 overall, 8-2 5A East) led 19-3 after the first quarter, 40-7 at halftime, and 64-18 after three quarters. Senior guard David Brewer and sophomore utility man LaDaryl Robinson, Jr., led Marion with 13 points apiece, while Lyndell Buckingham scored 12. Nine Patriots scored in all. Marion made 24 out of 49 field goals (51 percent), while Searcy managed just 11 makes on 50 attempts, while the Patriots outrebounded the Lions 39-22. Searcy (11-4, 4-6) fell despite getting nine points from Jayden Duffy and seven from Jaylen Clifton. Clifton started the scoring when he hit one out of two free throws with 7:52 left in the first period, but a Brewer three-pointer with 6:18 left in the first sparked a 19-2 run to close the first quarter. The Patriot barrage continued when Mikell Lewis scored a layup, Buckingham hit a runner, Lewis ripped off four straight points, interrupted by a pair of Brewer free throw makes that gave the visitors their first double-digit lead (13-3) with 3:20 left in the first quarter. A Jalen White layup preceded a Robinson free throw, and Buckingham capped off the first-quarter scoring with three points in the last 45.5 seconds and the Pats looked crisp taking a 19-3 lead to the second quarter. A Ronnie Townsend stickback gave the visitors their first 20-point lead (25-5) with 3:28 left in the second quarter when the Pats allowed the Lions to make just two of their 18 field goal attempts. Marion scored the last 13 points of the first half to take a 40-7 lead at the halftime break. A pair of Brewer free throws gave Marion its first 40-point lead (49-9) with 3:37 left in the third, and the Pats earned a 64-18 lead when a Buckingham runner beat the third-quarter buzzer. Marion took its only 50-point lead of the night (68-18) when Chandler Randle hit a layup with 6:24 left in the ballgame. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues 5A East play on Tuesday night when the boys and girls teams travel to play Batesville. The junior varsity games tip off at 5 p.m., followed by the girls varsity contest at 6 p.m., and the boys game is underway around 7:30 p.m. This game will not be broadcast on MarionPatriots.com, but updates will be provided on the MPAN social media pages. 5A EAST RESULTS ON 2/9 Marion 72, Searcy 27 Nettleton 61, W. Memphis 47 Batesville 55, Paragould 48 Valley View 84, Greene Co. Tech 62 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 2/12 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Nettleton 9-1 MARION 8-2 Valley View 8-2 W. Memphis 5-5 Searcy 4-6 Batesville 3-7 Paragould 2-8 Greene Co. Tech 1-9 5A EAST GAMES ON 2/13 Marion at Batesville Searcy at Greene Co. Tech Paragould at Nettleton W. Memphis at Valley View