The Marian boys basketball team took the "Next Man Up" approach to another level against Panther Valley on Friday night.

Times News area leading scorer Brandon Mohammed got the night off, but three Colts set season-highs in scoring. The milestones were just enough to fend off the Panthers in a Schuylkill League season finale for both teams, 66-62."It was tough not playing him on senior night," said Marian head coach John Patton. "But again, we have a lot of stuff ahead and I think that's where we need to go."Mohammed's void left the door open for Jacob Paluck, Anthony Collevechio, and junior Noah Stauffer to step up. Collevechio (8) and Paluck (8) both tied season-highs in scoring, while Stauffer poured in a career-high 16."I love to see it," said the Colts' coach. "Jake's been through a lot, but he come back in and give us some great minutes. He did a good job and played some good "D" for us as well."The Panthers led after one, but trailed by four at intermission. The third period is when PV's Tristan Blasko and Marian's freshman Tyler Fritz figuratively went punch-for-punch.Blasko scored 10 of his season-high 24 points in the third frame. On the other hand, Fritz tallied 11 of his 14 in the period, which helped keep a Colts' lead at three points heading into the final period."At that point, we really wanted to try and get Tristan touches every time down the floor," said Panthers' head coach Patrick Crampsie. "He had a great game and was very efficient. I think our guys did a great job of recognizing they were struggling with him down low. Tristan has been a lot more aggressive the last half of the season, and he's playing with a lot more confidence. Our plan was to get him the ball and get some good looks, because he opens up everything else."The fourth quarter belonged to Stauffer, who dropped 11 of his team-high 16 in the period, and was 6-of-8 from the foul line during the closing segment."It's one of those things where someone has to step up," said the Marian coach. "Ryan Karchner (six points) did a great job tonight, and we had a few other guys step up too. That's a big plus for us, especially coming off a heartbreaking loss on Tuesday, it means a lot for us."The Panthers' deficit was 10 with 1:31 remaining, and most of the gymnasium thought the game was out of reach. But much like Crampsie coaches until the final whistle, his team played until the clock struck zeros on Friday. In the final 1:14, Trey Turner hit a pair of three's, Blake White added another, Blasko had a put-back, and the Panthers forced a five-second Colts' inbound violation with under thirty seconds remaining-and the deficit was trimmed to three.But with the score at 65-62, Stauffer drained one of his two foul shots with 10 seconds remaining, which made it a two-score contest and sealed the deal for Marian."At this point of the season, we're just playing for pride," Crampsie said. "I was happy with our mindset and intensity. I thought our kids came ready to play and their focus was where it needed to be. The whole things boils down to the last couple of minutes, when they (Marian) made their free throws and made some big three's. They were killer, so credit to them because they made some plays down the stretch."IT MAKES SENSE ... The Colts were 24-of-29 from the foul line during the win. Marian averages a shade over 18 attempts per game this season, while the Colts hold opponents to just eight per game on average. The Panthers shot only five free throws tonight, which was four less than the first meeting between these teams.SENIOR NIGHT ... Seniors DJ Mummey, Sean Choley, and Jarod Paisley started along with Collevechio and Karchner on Friday.FROM THE COACH ... Crampsie wanted to give a shout to all of his supporters during the tough times he faced off the court this year. "On a personal note, I'd like to say thank you to everyone in the school and the community, throughout the league, and to our team and coaches. Everyone has been so thoughtful with everything. There's too many people to thank, but I really do appreciate it."PANTHER VALLEYRodriguez 4-0-0-8, Micholik 2-0-0-5, Turner 2-0-0-6, Figueroa 2-1-1-5, Distler 1-0-0-2, White 3-0-0-8, Blasko 11-2-4-24, Morgans 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 27-3-5-62.MARIANKarchner 1-4-6-6, Mummey 1-1-1-3, Stauffer 4-6-8-16, Fritz 4-4-5-14, Paisley 3-5-5-11, Collevechio 4-0-0-8, Paluck 2-4-4-8, Choley 0-0-0-0, Lentz 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-24-29-66.Panther Vy. 12 14 17 19 - 62Marian 10 19 16 20 - 66Three-pointers: PV - Turner 2, White 2, Micholik 1; M - Fritz 2, Stauffer 2.