If it's true that a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor, then Sammie Lewis may be ready to circumnavigate the globe. Marion's first-year head coach saw his team take a 20-point lead on Tuesday night inside Fidelity Bank Arena against defending Class 6A state champion Little Rock Central and had to sweat out the finish as the Tigers got within five points twice in the fourth period before Marion clinched a 58-51 victory. "Central is a historic program, so anytime you can beat them, that's really big," said Lewis, who won his first game as a head coach. "We knew that bunch wasn't going to give up. What's funny is, that I'm proud of our guys for seeing them wake up, push back at us, and still respond late to win the game. That's not easy to do, but our guys did it tonight, and that's special." Marion (1-0 overall) got 12 points apiece from juniors Dexter Higgins, Jr., and Chandler Randle, while LaDaryl Robinson, Jr. added eight points and six rebounds. Central got 15 points apiece from Brandon Wright and Daylon Thomas, while Tray Aleem hit for seven. Marion won the rebounding battle in the first quarter 13-4, generally limiting the Tigers to one shot per possession in the opening frame. The Patriots got five points apiece from Randle and Higgins in the opening quarter, while Mikell Lewis chipped in with three points and a block as the hosts finished the period on a 6-0 run for an 18-6 lead after the first eight minutes. "Early on, we wanted to take away the three-pointer the best way we could," said Lewis. "They're a great three-point shooting program, so if we could find the shooters, then we can have success." Marion led by as many as 17 points in the second stanza, the last time following a Higgins three-pointer, and the Pats allowed the Tigers just three field goals in the second as Marion led 27-15 at the break. The Pats opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run, including six from Robinson, and Marion claimed a 20-point lead following a Kayden Littlejohn three-pointer, but Wright got hot for Central, scoring nine points in the last 3:17 of the third quarter to help the Tigers get within 45-35 after three. Wright scored 12 points in the third quarter alone. Wright handed the baton to Thomas in the fourth quarter as he went to work, scoring nine points in the final frame. He added a pair of stickbacks following offensive rebounds to get the Tigers within 10 points with less than five minutes left. Marion left the door ajar for Central by making just three of its six free throws in the fourth and the Tigers got within five points twice before a Lewis dunk gave Marion the final tally. "Everything wasn't just perfect tonight, and that's okay," said Lewis. "We have plenty to work on, but our effort was excellent.” Lewis cut his teeth playing basketball on Jonesboro teams that played for three state championships in a row and winning one. He had served as legendary Jonesboro head coach Wes Swift's top assistant the past four seasons, helping the school to three state titles in a row from 2021-2023. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion travels to play Little Rock Christian on Tuesday, November 19 in a non-conference tilt.