WEST MEMPHIS --- One night after getting blown out by West Memphis, the Blytheville Chickasaws came back with a more stubborn attitude on Saturday in the Blue Devil Classic.
Isaiah Kelly's potential game-tying running three-pointer bounded off the rim at the buzzer to give Marion a 64-61 win.
Chicks head coach Bill Tyer saw his club leak oil for most of the second half against West Memphis on Friday in a 65-40 loss, but it showed much more energy for a prolonged period against Marion on Saturday.
"That was a lot better," Tyer said. "We made a simple adjustment on offense. (Friday) night we were stagnant. Tonight we would pass and cut, pass and cut and we got several back-door layups out of it."
Blytheville (0-3) led for most of the game. The Chicks took a 19-13 lead after one quarter and they sustained that margin to halftime, where they enjoyed a 41-35 cushion.
The Chicks hit 14 of 28 field-goal attempts in the first half despite getting beaten badly on the boards for the second straight night. After getting hammered 41-18 on the glass against West Memphis, the Chicks were outrebounded 22-12 in the first two quarters against the Patriots.
Marion led for most of the second half, but the Chicks nearly made a miraculous comeback in the final seconds.
Down 62-56 with 54 seconds to play in the game, Blytheville's Mahlik Lewis, who led all scorers with 22 points (10 of which came in the first quarter) ignited a late charge with a layup.
Kelly then took over five straight points, including a steal in the back court that led to a basket with 20 seconds left to make it a 62-61 game.
After Marion's A.J. Latham swished two free throws with 4.3 seconds left, Tyer called timeout to set up a three-point shot.
"We were hoping to get the ball down to our best shooter (Robert Moss) in the corner and it just didn't happen," Tyer explained. "(Kelly) got a decent look at it. It just didn't go in."
Lewis' early play kept the Chicks in the game, and it earned praise from the veteran Tyer.
"Mahlik just dominated the first half," Tyer said. "When you've got all your players moving on offense it just creates all types of problems for the defense and Mahlik took advantage of that."
A.J. Love and Kelly each added 11 points for Blytheville while Patrick Beasley scored 6.
Marion leaned heavily on the one-two inside punch from A.J. Latham and Marlon Warren, with 18 and 17 points respectively.