The Marian boys’ basketball team has picked up a big victory before the start of the season.

Senior Dewin Concepcion was ruled eligible on a 5-0 vote by the PIAA on Wednesday, overturning a previous ruling from November.

Concepcion had previously been ruled ineligible on a 4-3 vote by a panel of District 2 and District 11 officials after transferring from Hazleton to Marian.

“His ability to get to play his senior year I think is what this is all about,” said Marian head coach John Patton. “From a coaching standpoint, that was the biggest thing, just seeing him be allowed to play as a senior.

“How he fits in, where it goes, we don’t have any idea. We’re just thrilled to be able to have him be able to enjoy his senior year. The rest of it is yet to be determined. As a coach, you see these things come through so many times over the years and different kids who don’t get to play for different reasons, and you just feel bad for them, that they only get one chance to be a senior and now he’s going to get that chance. He’s a great kid, and we’re looking forward to having him be part of the Marian family. We’ll take it one day at a time and see what happens.”

With the coronavirus pandemic causing a great deal of uncertainty for the winter sports season and several schools shifting to online-only education, Marian has stayed with its in-person learning model for students.

Despite the rising number of coronavirus cases across the state, the PIAA announced on Wednesday that it would be moving forward with the winter sports season as scheduled.

While there are still many unknowns regarding how long the season will last - with Gov. Tom Wolf, who recently testing positive for COVID-19 expected to announce more restrictions in the near future - Concepcion knows he will at least have the chance to suit up for the Colts, who finished 19-6 last year and claimed the Schuylkill League Division 3 title, when they do take the floor.

“This is obviously a different situation we’re in,” said Patton, who noted he was expecting the unexpected with Wednesday’s decision. “The fact that Marian has been able to stay in-class makes a big difference for the kids and their socialization and those type of things. There have been a lot of things that have happened since March, and it’s been a struggle for the kids. We talk about it every day at practice where we keep getting pushed back. So we were supposed to start on Dec. 11, and then it was the 17th, and now we don’t start until the 23rd. So all those things have an effect on the kids because you’re getting ramped up, and then it’s hurry-up and wait.

“We’ve taken the attitude in practice where, when it comes, we’ll be ready. But we can’t get too hyped up because we know just around the corner is another potential setback. And that is for kids who didn’t go through what Dewin went through, which is basically changing schools and changing the way he does things. So that, on top of everything else, was just a relief for him to be able to get this off his plate that he becomes eligible. The rest of it is up to the powers that be, whether we play a full season or how we even play. But just for him to have the ability to have the chance to experience that was the best thing to come out of this hearing.”