Marion Athletics -

Marion's Fidelity Bank Arena has become something of a house of horrors for visiting teams so far in the 2025-2026 basketball season.

The Patriots have lost just once at the friendly confines so far this season, a December defeat to state juggernaut Little Rock Christian.

Nettleton was on the schedule on Tuesday evening, and despite a game-high 30 points from Raider guard Te'Jay Daley, Marion easily pulled away for the Raiders to a 71-41 decision, the Pats' fifth mercy-rule victory so far this winter in league action.

Marion, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's weekly SuperSix rankings and No. 2 in the Overall Top 10, improved to 21-4 overall with the win. The Patriots, now 9-0 in the 5A East, have now won 17 consecutive conference contests.

The Patriots got double-digit scoring efforts from senior Chandler Randle (25 points), 14 points from Karlyal “Duck” Hyland, and 10 from Korbin Littlejohn, and played without senior Jalen Neal. Senior forward Jackson Black blocked three shots against Nettleton, and he pulled down seven rebounds.

Nettleton got Daley's big night, but no other Raider scored more than Jeremiah Jackson's five points.
Back-to-back layups from Littlejohn and Dexter Higgins, Jr. gave Marion a 10-4 lead in the first period, and the Patriots enjoyed a 16-9 lead after the opening quarter.

A Randle mid-range jumper gave Marion its first double-digit lead (22-12) with 5:44 left in the first half, and the Pats pushed ahead 32-15 at halftime.

A Hyland three-pointer with 6:30 left in the third gave Marion its first 20-point lead at 37-15, and the Pats coasted in the fourth period ahead 56-32.

Sophomore Gary Hayes capped the scoring with a layup late in the fourth period.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion continues 5A East play with a road trip Friday evening to Searcy. The girls varsity contest will tip off around 6 p.m., followed by the boys game around 7:30 p.m., and you can watch both varsity games for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

RANKINGS RUNDOWN
Marion earned the No. 1 ranking in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's weekly Class 5A SuperSix ranking for the seventh straight week, and the Patriots were ranked second in the ADG's Overall Top 10 for the sixth week in a row.

5A EAST RESULTS FROM 2/10
Marion 71, Nettleton 41
Greene Co. Tech 49, Searcy 46
W. Memphis 47, Batesville 26
Paragould 62, Valley View 55

5A EAST STANDINGS ON 2/12
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
Marion 9-0
Greene Co. Tech 8-1
W. Memphis 6-3
Nettleton 4-5
Valley View 4-5
Paragould 2-7
Batesville 2-7
Searcy 1-8
The top four teams make the state tournament in Farmington.

5A EAST GAMES ON 2/13
Marion at Searcy
Greene Co. Tech at Nettleton
Valley View at W. Memphis
Batesville at Paragould