Marion Athletics -

HOT SPRINGS --- An overtime Class 5A state final is not for the faint of heart, and even less so after a crushing loss.

The Marion Patriots found out the hard way on Saturday afternoon inside Bank OZK Arena.

Marion (29-5 overall) led Little Rock Parkview (27-5 overall) 23-22 at halftime, and 37-33 after three quarters, before Parkview rallied to take a two-point lead late in the fourth period.

That's when Marion senior guard Dexter Higgins, Jr. hit a floater from the right side to tie the score at 49 at the end of the fourth period to force overtime.

In the extra period, Little Rock Parkview got 14 combined points from Nebraska signee Jacob Lanier and guard Ayden Hansberry to claim a 63-57 victory, and the 2026 Class 5A boys basketball state championship.

Marion capped a season in which it won a single-season school record 29 games with Henderson State signee Chandler Randle scoring 17 points, while Higgins hit for 11, and Jalen Neal logged a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson Black scored seven points with four boards, Jamari Bruin scored eight points and five rebounds, and Korbin Littlejohn scored four points.

Lanier earned the state final MVP award after scoring a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Hanbserry finished with 17 points and seven boards, and Kolby Bell hit for 10 points.

Little Rock Parkview led Marion 13-8 after a quarter, and stretched that lead to 17-11 early in the second period, when MHS started to push back with a Black offensive rebound and layup, followed by a Randle jumper to move Marion within 17-15, leading to a play seconds later when Higgins came up with a steal near halfcourt and turned it into a layup to tie the game at 17 with 3:15 left in the first half.

The Marion run continued with a Neal layup and two Bruin points to give Marion a 21-17 lead, an advantage that was 23-22 at halftime.
Randle gave Marion a 35-32 lead with 32 seconds left in the third with a three-pointer, and he beat the third-period buzzer with a layup to give his team a 37-33 bulge entering the fourth frame.

A Neal bucket gave Marion its last lead of regulation at 47-46 with 1:49 left in the game, but Hansberry responded with a pair of free throws for a 48-47 lead, and when he split a pair of freebies, the Parkview lead was 49-47 with 15 seconds left.

That set the stage for Higgins's heroics, when his runner dropped through with less than two seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

Marion struck first in the extra period when Randle hit a layup with 2:39 left in the bonus four-minute frame, but a Lanier three-pointer on the ensuing possession gave the Parkview Patriots the lead for good.

A Randle runner got Marion within 55-53 with 58 seconds left in the game, but Hansberry and Lanier combined to make all eight free throws down the stretch to clinch victory.