5A-EAST BOYS
MARION 65, BATESVILLE 27
BATESVILLE -- A 34-1 Marion run that bridged the second and third quarters, highlighted by 22 consecutive second-quarter points, helped Marion to a 65-27 victory over Batesville on Tuesday night at Pioneer Gymnasium.
Marion led 13-8 after the first quarter, thanks to five points and seven rebounds from junior Kayden Nesbitt.
That set the stage for Marion's run on the second quarter. The Patriots (15-5, 4-0 5A-East) limited the Pioneers (4-16, 0-4) to 0-of-5 shooting from the floor in the second quarter while forcing nine turnovers.
"Our man-to-man defense has been really good all year long," Marion Coach David Clark said. "We knew what we had there. Tonight, we wanted to see if we could execute some other concepts, and for the most part, we did well."
The Patriots outscored the Pioneers 22-1 in the second quarter, making 10 of 22 shots from the floor and recording nine offensive rebounds.
The run began when Nesbitt scored on a layup, and layups from Donnie Cheers and Jalen White forced a Batesville timeout.
Following the stoppage, Cheers connected on a three-pointer from the wing, Nesbitt, Martavius Davis, White, and Lyndell Buckingham scored layups, and by the time Buckingham and David Brewer made mid-range jumpers, the Marion lead was 35-8 with 1:08 left in the second stanza. A Cory Cothrine free throw was the first Batesville point since 46.6 seconds remained in the first quarter, coming with 14.8 seconds remaining, and the Pats enjoyed a 35-9 lead at halftime.
The halftime horn did little to slow the Pats as Marion scored the first 12 points of the second half and took a 48-9 lead. Marion took its largest lead (51-11) when Buckingham made a pair of free throws with 4:04 remaining in the third.
Marion forced 23 Batesville turnovers for the game while winning the rebounding battle 38-20. The Patriots recorded 15 offensive boards.
Cheers paced Marion with 13 points, while Nesbitt had 10 points and 12 rebounds. White added 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Matthew Hendrix led Batesville with 10 points, while Rafael Thomas scored nine.
GIRLS
MARION 65, BATESVILLE 54
Marion dominated the second half to outpace Batesville.
The Lady Patriots (4-14, 1-3 5A-East) led 33-31 at halftime, but forced 13 Lady Pioneer turnovers and limited them to 7-of-34 shooting in the second half.
Alyse Holliman led Marion with a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Salice Speed, Abby Hurley, and Sophie Poole paced the Lady Pioneers (7-11, 0-4) with 16, 15 and 14 points, respectively.