HEGINS – Both teams wanted a statement game Friday night - one got it, while the other at least has the comfort of knowing it’s still in the driver’s seat for a league playoff berth.

Tri-Valley grabbed a commanding lead early and then held off a furious comeback bid by Marian to get its statement win - a 56-44 Schuylkill League victory over the Division 3 leading Colts.

With the win, Tri-Valley improves to 14-1 overall and 7-1 in Schuylkill League Division 2 play and remain in a dogfight with Schuylkill Haven for the division title. Despite the loss, the Colts (9-7, 7-1) still hold a two-game lead in the loss column over second-place Mahanoy Area in Division 3.

The way these Dawgs got out of the gate, it looked has the showdown between division leaders was going to be a blowout. Tri-Valley nine first-quarter turnovers to jump out to an early lead and by halftime were holding a commanding 37-21 advantage.

Tri-Valley shot 15-for-31 from the floor in the half as Cayden Leonard, Layne Yoder, and Noah Porter were all well on their way to double-figure scoring games.

“We executed our game plan in the first half very well,” said Tri-Valley coach Mike Masser said. “We wanted to get the ball inside and kick it out to get the open look.

“Defensively, we wanted keep (Julius) Currie and (Frankie) Valente under control. I thought we did a really good job for the most part on both of those players.”

Indeed that was the case in the opening half.

“They were so tough to handle in that first half,” said Marian coach Scott Murphy. “I thought in the second half, we protected the ball better and that allowed us to get into our offense.”

Surely, Valente rose to the occasion. He drained 15 of his game high 24 points in the second half, and made some spectacular moves to get himself free.

“We started off slow in that first half, then we came out a lot stronger in that second half,” Valente said. “I think we play better from behind.”

After early baskets by Miller and Yoder in the third quarter allowed the Dawgs to stretch their lead to 41-23, Marian began to find some momentum thanks to Valente who kickstarted the offense and helped the Colts pull to within 43-37 after three quarters.

“The best part about him is that his motor never quits,” Murphy said about Valente. “He was trying to will us to the victory.”

Meanwhile, Tri-Valley’s precision-like first-half offensive performance was nowhere to be found in the third quarter as it committed eight turnovers and scored just six points.

Valente made a terrific move inside for a bucket early in the final quarter and when Currie buried a deep trey at the 5:39 mark, the Colts were still down just six points.

Unfortunately, the needle on the gas tank was about to read empty for the Colts. Tri-Valley composed itself at the right time, reeling off a 10-1 spurt with Miller in charge and that was enough to keep Marian at bay.

BIG MO … Both teams had momentum on their sides at different points throughout the game. First, Tri-Valley with its opening two quarters, then Marian for most of the third quarter, and then finally the Bulldogs again midway through the final quarter to secure the victory..

FRANKIE V … Valente is truly a gamer. He stepped up big in the third quarter to lead the Colts’ comeback.

JV … Marian copped the opener 58-41 Dylan Rodino and Bruce Hopeck both scored 18 points for Marian.

MARIAN

Valente 9-4-5-24, Currie 3-0-0-8, Chambers 1-1-3-3, J. Rodino 1-1-1-3, Miller 1-0-0-3, Ramirez 1-0-0-2, Walko 0-1-2-1, Ferrera 0-0-0-0, Hopeck 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-7-11-44.

TRI-VALLEY

Porter 6-3-7-16, Yoder 5-3-4-13, K. Miller 4-0-1-11, Leonard 4-1-4-11, Wehry 1-0-0-3, Kroh 0-3-8-3, Manning 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-10-24-56

Marian 12 9 16 12 – 44

Tri-Valley 17 20 6 13 – 56

Three-pointers: Marian - Valente 2, Currie 2, Miller 1. Tri-Valley - K. Miller 3, Leonard 2, Wehry 1.