A first-quarter run got Marian off to a good start.

A third-quarter run by Weatherly made the Colts' comfortable 15-point halftime lead a little uncomfortable.But in the end, the Colts did what was needed to pull out a 46-35 Schuylkill League victory."We said at halftime that we needed to keep them from coming out and getting a run because they're a very good team," Marian coach John Patton said. "Ron (Cann) does a great job with them. They come out and they play hard."We said, 'If they get on a run, they'll have all the momentum and we have to stop it.' Fortunately, we did."The win not only aided Marian's run for a District 11 playoff berth, but it also produced a program milestone - the 900th all-time victory."Weatherly came back and made it very interesting," said Patton. "But we kept our heads up, we made some good plays, and we were able to pull it out."We still need a couple of wins to qualify for Districts and we have Mahanoy, Thorpe, Shenandoah and Nativity left. It's crunch time now."Anthony Pilla sparked Marian's first-quarter run by hitting three straight three-pointers, which contributed to the Colts attaining a 15-5 lead after one.In the second quarter, Zach Motil and Alden Whah both scored four points as the Colts opened a commanding 27-21 lead.The Wreckers' Scott Coll and Joe Haganey sparked runs that pulled the hosts to within seven points on two separate occasions, 27-20 and 34-27.But with a fourth-quarter lead, the Colts turned it from a fast-paced tempo into a bit of slow down. The strategy worked as Marian controlled play down the stretch to improve its record to 9-9 overall and 5-5 in the league.Cann was still proud of his team's emergence in the final 16 minutes of play."I'm very happy with the second half effort," he said. "Our kids worked their tails off. We just have to get more consistent."We're young, and the kids have to learn how to play 32 minutes of basketball. That's what we have to do to make things happen."Damian Richards, Pilla and Motil all finished with nine points to lead Marian.Haganey led Weatherly ( 4-12, 1-9) with eight points.In the JV game, Marian edged Weatherly, 51-45 victory.MARIANWhah 3-0-0-6, Kweder 2-0-2-5, Karnish 2-3-5-8, Pilla 3-0-0-9, Motil 4-1-3-9, Richards 3-3-6-9, Swankoski 0-0-0-0, Weber 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-7-16-46.WEATHERLYColl 3-0-0-6, Sipler 1-0-0-3, L. Reiner 2-0-0-4, Stallone 3-0-0-7, J. Reiner 0-0-0-0, Haganey 2-4-8-8, Walton 2-1-2-5, Wallish 0-2-2-2. TOTALS: 17-6-16-46.Marian 15 12 10 9 - 46Weatherly 5 7 17 6 - 35Three-pointers: Marian - Pilla 3, Kweder 1, Karnish 1; Weatherly - Stallone 1.