Marion Survives OT Thriller to Claim 5A Title

The Marion Patriots outlasted the Little Rock Hall Warriors in overtime to claim the 5A state championship, 57-54. Tournament MVP Keyshawn Woods led all scorers with 20 points.

Turnovers (14) and missed free throws (8) ultimately doomed Hall with their costliest turnover occurring with only two seconds left in overtime with the Warriors trailing by two.

Marion (25-3) nearly notched the win in regulation, going on a 7-0 run exclusively from the free throw line, going 8-for-10 from the line in the final 2:47. The Patriots held a three-point lead with just 24 seconds remaining until Jarius Sharp hit a driving layup and drew contact, pulling the Warriors within a single point. He drained the free throw to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Sharp led Hall (23-7) with 17 points and four boards but fouled out in the final minute of the contest. He shot an astounding 78 percent from the field (7-for-9 FG) in the game.

The first half was rather sluggish for both teams. Marion went on an eight-minute field goal drought between the first and second quarters yet stayed competitive. Hall then went on a nearly three-minute scoring drought near the end of the first half.

Marion shot a dismal 36 percent from the field in the first half yet found themselves leading by two going into the halftime locker room. Hall left five points off the board, shooting just 2-for-7 (29 percent) from the free throw line in the half despite shooting lights out (54 percent) from the field.

Both teams came out firing in the second half as players settled in.

The title bout turned into a back-and-forth battle as both teams attacked the paint, racking up easy buckets at the rim. In fact, 24 of the 33 total points in the third period came in the paint. Emotions were on display during the period, demonstrated best by Woods when he hit a layup to get Marion within two and responded with a flex and stare down. Jared Smith answered with a coast-to-coast lay-in for Hall, just a few possessions after a slam dunk by teammate Jared Smith. Smith had two dunks on the night.

As excitement and tension built, Hall took a 37-34 lead into the final period.

Both teams buckled down with press defense, causing problems on each side of the contest. Hall turned it over due to Marion’s stiff press with 2:24 remaining while up one, leading to the 7-0 free throw run by the Patriots. The rest is history.

Marion walks away with their first 5A state basketball championship.

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