Last night's Schuylkill League contest between Marian and Minersville had all the makings of an instant classic - a close hard-fought game with back-and-forth action, a feisty crowd, a desperation last second shot, and a nail-biting overtime session.

When all was said and done, players, coaches and fans were taken on a roller-coaster ride of physical and emotional exertion that saw Minersville escape with a 53-49 overtime victory over the host Colts.After a furious fourth-quarter rally fueled by Marian senior Anthony Agosti, the Colts found themselves with a 42-39 lead with six seconds remaining in regulation. Following back-to-back timeouts by each team, Minersville's Spencer Tobin received the inbounds pass from half court and after two dribbles heaved up an off-balance three-point shot from the right wing. The ball bounced off the rim, rolled around the cylinder and slowly dropped through the net as the horn sounded to force overtime.In the overtime period, freshman Ethan Kuczysnki gave Marian a 44-42 lead with a long deuce from the left corner, but Tobin and Shameik Bethea combined for eight of Minerville's next nine points, as the Battlin' Miners grabbed a 51-46 lead with 25 seconds remaining. Marian had plenty of chances in overtime, but failed to capitalize, as the Colts converted just two of their eight free throws in the final four minutes."We played hard tonight and we'll eventually find a way to finish out these games," said Mariah head coach John Patton. "This was a tough loss, no doubt about it. We thought we had them at the end, they get a shot that rolls in, but that's the way it goes sometimes."There were just so many different elements of this basketball game tonight. We were up, we were down, we go into overtime, but the kids hung in there and I think we learned a lot about ourselves tonight. There's no such thing as a good loss, but we learn from moments like these and hopefully we can take something from this and use it to better ourselves as we head into the rest of the season."With Marian trailing 27-22 with 25 seconds remaining in third quarter, Agosti decided to take matters into his own hands. His three-pointer trimmed the deficit to two points and ignited a 16-9 Marian run. Agosti scored all 16 of his team's points during that six-minute stretch, which saw his team take a 38-36 lead with 2:20 remaining. A Kuczynski trey put the Colts up by five, but Minersville ended regulation on a 6-1 run."Anthony is a warrior and he comes to play every possession," said Patton. "He's the leader of this team and he put the team on his back in that fourth quarter. He's absolutely exhausted right now, but he did everything he could possibly do to help us win. We just came up a little short in the end."Agosti led Marian (3-7, 2-3) with 26 points and 12 rebounds.For Minersville (7-4, 4-1), Dylan Ellinger had 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Shameik Bethea (13 points) and Spencer Tobin (12 points) also scored double-figures."We don't have time to dwell on this game and feel sorry about what happened because we play Moravian Academy in 15 hours," added Patton."A win tonight would have made tomorrow a lot easier, but now we have to prove to ourselves that we can overcome adversity and get things back on the right track."MINERSVILLEMcBreen 2-0-0-4, Bethea 4-5-8-13, Hashin 2-2-8-6, Fritz 0-0-0-0, Leshko 2-0-0-5, Ellinger 4-5-11-13, Tobin 3-5-6-12. TOTALS: 17-17-33-53.MARIANKarnish 0-0-0-0, Vercusky 2-2-2-6, N. Agosti 0-0-0-0, Kuczynski 3-1-2-8, Legath 0-0-0-0, Mussoline 2-1-4-6, Wesner 0-0-0-0, Swetz 1-1-2-3, Weber 0-0-0-0, A. Agosti 9-6-13-26. TOTALS: 17-11-23-49.Minersville 8 10 11 13 11 - 53Marian 8 12 5 17 7 - 49Three-pointers: Minersville - Leshko 1, Tobin 1; Marian - A. Agosti 2, Kuczynski 1, Mussoline 1.