By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
8-1 has a nice ring to it. 10-1 sounds even better.
Monday, the Forrest City Mustangs won their fifth straight game and made it two straight over Marianna, defeating the Trojans 71-69 at Marianna.
Sophomores Marcus Britt and Stephon Weaver each scored 22 points to lead the Mustangs.
The win gets the Mustangs to 8-1 for the year.
The team will return to Marianna on Thursday to compete in the two-day Classic Tournament. Forrest City will open Thursday at 5 p.m., against Stuttgart.
In the first meeting between Forrest City and Marianna, the Mustangs needed overtime to nip the Trojans 74-73.
By KTHV Channel 11's high school prep poll, Monday's game was a battle between No. 3 and No. 7.
Monday's newest poll had the Mustangs as the third-ranked team in the state and Marianna as the seventh-ranked team.
The Mustangs are ranked eighth by Arkansas Prep Hoops and are the preseason favorites to win the AAAAA-East Conference title.
As they did in the first game at Mustang Arena, Marianna started fast, taking an 8-0 lead before Forrest City rallied to tie the game at 12-12 and eventually went on to lead 35-24 at the half.
Marianna put up 26 points in the third period but trailed by three, 53-50 on a Marcus Britt three pointer at the buzzer.
Neither team led by more than two points in the fourth until the 2:50 point when Forrest City was up 66-60 after breaking a 60-60 tie with a 6-0 run.
After a called time out by Marianna, the Trojans hit a three, cutting Forrest City's lead to 66-63 and then got within one at 66-65 after a Mustang miss.
Tied at 69-69, with 42 seconds to play in the game, Weaver was fouled on a layup after a long pass from Britt, but failed to turn the potential three-point play when he missed the free throw, leaving the Mustangs up 71-69 with 16 seconds to play.
The Trojans missed a three pointer and Forrest City senior guard Nick Grady grabbed the rebound and drew the foul with 4.2 seconds left. Grady, who came off the bench to score 11 points, missed both free throws.
Marianna's desperation three from just beyond half court was off the mark at the final buzzer.
"It was just the kind of game I thought it would be," said Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton. "Both teams played hard and neither team gave in. The win for us was a total team effort. And the Forrest City crowd was tremendous. They were the sixth man for us."
Lofton also singled out Jarvis Palmer and Jacobi Morten, saying each player gave quality minutes to the victory.
Forrest City senior forward Chris Williams fouled out with 4:30 to play in the game, leaving with seven points. In the first meeting, Williams had 19 points against the Trojans.
"Marianna's game plan was to stop Chris," Lofton said. "They sold out to that end after what he did against them at Forrest City. By focusing on Chris, it opened up Britt and Weaver as well as other scoring avenues for us."