Marian wasn’t going to be a generous host in the final home game of the regular season for its seniors.

There was far too much at stake.

The Colts - who are on the verge of wrapping up a Schuylkill League Division 3 championship - whittled their magic number to one by dispatching Shenandoah Valley, 67-32, on Tuesday night.

The win against the defending divisional champs was never in doubt.

The Blue Devils were harassed all evening long as Marian turned up the defensive pressure from the outset, forcing eight first-quarter turnovers and then increasing that number to a dozen by halftime.

Shenandoah Valley’s only semblance of life occurred with 3:43 to play in the opening eight minutes when Erik Hernandez sank the back half of a two-shot foul try for a 9-8 SV lead.

Then the Colts went to work, as they reeled off 10 unanswered points to open an 18-10 lead after the opening quarter.

Frankie Valente made his final home appearance count as he ignited the flames with back-to-back steals that led to points. Fellow senior Joey Walko put back a missed shot, before Valente swished home a triple to cap the run.

“Valente is one of the best players in the league, and he showed it,” Shenandoah coach Robbie Miller said. “You can’t give them the chances they had and expect to stay with them. They’re a talent team.”

Marian started to tear it up in the first three minutes of the second quarter. After Shenandoah Valley’s Kaleb Maksimik unloaded with a triple to open the quarter, it was ‘Katie-bar-the-door,’ as the Colts reeled off runs of nine and 14 points during the period to open a commanding 41-19 halftime lead.

Walko, Jesse Rodino, Chris Chambers and Julius Currie all led the first spurt, with the latter burying an NBA-like triple. After a couple of Blue Devil baskets, the Colts went on their second run with Rodino and Currie taking center stage as both players scored six points.

“We just had to play the defense, lock down on them, and do what we’ve been doing,” Chambers said about Marian’s big first half.

Marian’s relentless pressure continued in the third quarter as the lead expanded to 61-31.

“This team almost beat us a couple of weeks ago,” Walko said of the first encounter in Shenandoah. “We wanted to get the intensity going right from the start, and keep it going.”

Marian will visit Weatherly on Friday needing a victory to lock up the division title and a league playoff berth.

AT THE FOREFRONT … Valente led Marian with 16 points, Currie added 14, including four triples, and Rodino just missed twin digits with nine. For Shenandoah, Rivera had 16 and Maksimik added 12.

FOR THE SENIORS ... “We wanted to make sure our seniors final home game was a good one,” said Rodino, who is a junior.

COLTS WIN OPENER … Marian posted a 51-35 victory in the JV game behind James Rodino’s 27 points.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Rivera 6-0-0-16, K. Maksimik 4-1-2-12, Burke 1-0-0-2, Silverstine 0-1-2-1, Hernandez 0-1-2-1, Boris 0-0-0-0, B. Maksimik 0-0-0-0, Taylor 0-0-0-0, Nickerson 0-0-0-0, McCole 0-0-0-0, Najda 0-0-0-0, Cano 0-0-0-0, Salguero 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-3-8-32.

MARIAN

Valente 6-1-2-16, Currie 5-0-0-14, Je. Rodino 4-1-2-9, Walko 2-4-4-8, Chambers 3-0-0-7, Ramirez 2-0-0-5, Vizcaino 2-0-0-4, Ferrera 1-0-0-2, Ja. Radino 1-0-0-2, Rosario 0-0-0-0, D. Rodino 0-0-0-0, Hopeck 0-0-0-0, Miller 0-0-0-0, Thomas 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-6-8-67.

Shenandoah 10 9 12 1 - 32

Marian 18 23 20 6 - 67

Three-pointers: Shenandoah Valley - Rivera 4, K. Maksimik 3; Marian - Currie 4, Valente 3, Chambers 1, Ramirez 1.