Marquese Christian scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Pike Lib Patriots rallied late to defeat the Hooper Colts 53-52 on Tuesday.

“We continued to battle,” said Patriots head coach Alan Ponder. “That is something that we talked about at half time. No. 3, was a good scorer for them but we tried to contain him and run him a little bit. I thought we did a good job at that.”

The Patriots had their own special number three in Christian, who knocked down a big three-pointer in the fourth period to bring the Patriots to within two points and then scored the tying basket with 3:30 remaining.

“We understand as a basketball team that if we want to be successful on offense than Marquese has to lead us,” Ponder said. “He is a great ball handler. He can drive the lane and really shoot the ball. He does a great job at getting everyone involved. He did a good job at getting us back in the game, and eventually we were able to take the lead and win the game.”

Both teams struggled in the first period, and the game stood tied at 9-9 s they entered the second period. The Colts were able to gain a little bit of separation, thanks in large part to four three-point shots.

“Before the game, our number one point of emphasis was contest every shot,” Ponder said. “They made some great shots in the first half. Not all of them were contested. We wanted to come back in the second half and make sure we didn’t give up any wide open looks.”

The Colts entered the locker room at halftime with a 33-24 lead.

In the third quarter the Patriots battled back. With two minutes remaining in the third quarter Hunter Jones made a three=pointer to bring the Patriots to within one point at 41-40.

The two teams traded baskets for the first half of the fourth quarter until Christian converted a shot to tie the game at 48 a piece with 3:30 remaining. Christian then would convert on two free throws to give the Patriots the lead at 50-48.

After the Colts were able to retake the lead, the Patriots converted on another big three-pointer to give them the 53-51 lead with just 2:10 remaining.

With just a handful of seconds remaining in the game Hooper was fouled sending them to the line with the chance of taking the lead. They missed on the front end of the one and one to clinch the win for the Patriots.

Jones led the Patriots in scoring with 14 points on the night while Christian finished with 12. J.D. Cox also had a good night finishing with nine points.

The Patriots will be back in action Thursday night when they play host to Abbeville Christian. Tipp off is scheduled for after the conclusion of the girl’s game.