WEST MEMPHIS --- Marion played well enough for most of Thursday night's 5A East opener at West Memphis to lead by double-digits for most of the third quarter. Then West Memphis played well enough from there to make it a thriller at the end. When all was said and done, Marion made the most of its big, early lead to top West Memphis 57-55 at Lehr Arena, denying the Blue Devils on the home team's final two shot attempts of the evening with less than 5 seconds left on the clock. Marion (13-4 overall, 1-0 5A East) got a heroic effort with junior all-conference performer LaDaryl Robinson, Jr. sidelined as junior point guard Dexter Higgins, Jr. scored a team-high 13 points with four assists, while classmate Chandler Randle finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while junior Jalen Neal scored 10 points and snatched seven rebounds. Zayden Walker scored eight points with three rebounds, and Mikell Lewis scored seven points and five boards. West Memphis (11-5, 0-1) got 13 points from junior Anthony Vaughns and 12 from TyQuariouis Ivy. West Memphis proved to be the aggressor in the game's opening quarter, hitting the Patriots with an 11-2 run midway through the frame culminating when LaDarrius Brown hit a pair of free throws with 4:21 left in the opening stanza, and the Blue Devils claimed their largest lead at 15-6 after a D.J. Craig layup with 2:18. But Marion battled back when Randle hit a pair of free throws, Higgins came up with a steal and layup, then a three-point play, and when Randle beat the first-quarter buzzer with a steal and layup of his own, the game was knotted at 15 apiece. Marion made its move late in the second stanza when Higgins scored in the paint and Zayden Walker connected on back-to-back three-pointers for a 31-23 lead with 1:47 left, and the Pats took a 36-27 lead to the locker room after a Korbin Littlejohn three-pointer from the top of the key. The Patriots took their first double-digit lead (44-33) with 3:08 left in the third after a Randle runner, but the Blue Devils closed out the frame better, scoring 8 of the final 10 points to work within 47-42 after three. Marion pushed ahead double-digits again (55-45) early in the fourth when Rylan Johnson hit a free throw, but the Blue Devils finished in a flurry, scoring 5 straight points when Da'Veyun Glenn hit a free throw, followed by layups by Brown and Craig. The run continued when De'Cambrien Holmes scored in the paint to get within 57-55 with just 25 seconds left. From there, West Memphis rebounded a pair of missed free throws to take possession with around 20 seconds left, and the Blue Devils dribbled the clock down, missing a runner with 6 seconds left, and missing a subsequent tip, and a second tip attempt was too late on the court giving Marion its 13th win in 14 tries against its Crittenden County rival. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion hosts Nettleton on Tuesday, January 14 for a crucial 5A East contest inside Fidelity Bank Arena. The girls action will tip off around 6 p.m., followed by the boys game at approximately 7:30 p.m. The Nettleton girls and boys varsity games can be viewed for free on MarionPatriots.com, on the MPAN YouTube channel, and on the MPAN mobile app. 5A EAST HOME OPENER EVENTS Marion's 5A East home opener on January 14 against Nettleton could set the tone for the conference season, and the gameday atmosphere will follow suit. Marion's band will perform at home basketball games this season, beginning with Nettleton. Bright Futures Marion will be selling clear bags branded with the Marion logo, which will be on sale during the game. Basketball games will be fun for students this winter with different themes for each opponent and full concession stands available. Public address announcer Tyler Bennett enhances the in-game entertainment with music, player introductions, and energy. RANKINGS RUNDOWN Marion checked in this week at No. 10 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and ScoreBookLive.com's weekly Overall rankings, and the Patriots held down the No. 4 spot in this week's edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's weekly Super Six rankings. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 1/9-1/10 Marion 57, W. Memphis 55 Greene Co. Tech 40, Paragould 39 Batesville at Valley View and Searcy at Nettleton postponed 5A EAST BOYS STANDINGS AS OF 1/13 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 1-0 Greene Co. Tech 1-0 Batesville 0-0 Valley View 0-0 Searcy 0-0 Nettleton 0-0 Paragould 0-1 W. Memphis 0-1 5A EAST GAMES ON 1/14 Nettleton at Marion Searcy at Greene Co. Tech W. Memphis at Batesville Paragould at Valley View