It may not have been textbook basketball at the onset for Marian.

The Colts struggled for the better part of a quarter against Shenandoah Valley in an early-season Schuylkill League Division 3 matchup.

The Blue Devils were buzzing up and down the floor, trying their best to make a statement.

But the alarm finally went off, and when it did, the Colts took command and went on to polish off Shenandoah, 64-46, on Thursday night.

Shenandoah’s strong start was facilitated by its defense.

“We drew up a few junk defenses,” said first-year Blue Devil coach Josh Dombrowski. “We wanted to keep (Jacob) Miller and (Julius) Currie off-balance. We looked at film, and felt they were their two best players.”

The plan allowed Shenandoah to jump out to a 13-8 lead after one quarter.

“I thought we had decent looks early, but we didn’t finish,” said Marian coach Scott Murphy.

The Colts (4-1, 2-0) had no problem finishing over the final three quarters, however, as they grabbed a halftime lead and then stretched it out after intermission.

Meanwhile, it was a slide downhill - without any breaks - for the Devils (1-5, 1-1).

The Colts fired a few torpedoes to the bow and before you knew it, the Shenandoah lead had sunk.

Leading the attack for Marian was standout senior sharpshooter AJ Thomas, who buried 11 of his team-high 17 points in the first half.

And if it wasn’t Thomas doing the damage, it was James Rodino muscling inside for 14 points, or Curry burying 11 points.

“I thought we shared the ball very well,” said Murphy.

Marian was trying to avoid Shenandoah Valley’s 6-6 John Silvestre in the middle. Murphy knew it was posing a problem, until his team started to swing the ball, crash the glass and took control.

“He disrupts a lot,” Murphy said. “He’s a big guy, you can’t teach 6-6, 6-7.”

But Murphy and Marian had an answer to the Devils’ size advantage in the form of brothers Jesse and James Rodino, They came to life in the paint, allowing Marian to take control.

“The Rodinos are the Rodinos,” said Murphy. “They bang and battle, and position themselves to create things on both ends of the floor.”

The Colts went on a 12-0 run to open the second quarter, with the Rodinos handling the inside work, and Thomas and Curry providing the outside damage.

The Colt defense also played a key role as it forced the Blue Devils into 10 turnovers in the second quarter as Marian built a 27-21 halftime lead.

Things started to snowball into the third quarter as Marian exploded for 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the floor to build a commanding 53-31 advantage, and cruised home from there.

COUNTING ‘EM UP … Marian came on strong from the floor after a sluggish start. The Colts shot 27-for 64, while SV went 19-for-60. The teams combined for 124 shots in 32 minutes of play.

BIG BOARDS … Marian had a 48-33 rebound edge. James and Jesse Rodino both had 11 boards to lead Marian, while Silvestre had nine for the Devils.

HEAD OF THE CLASS … Shenandoah Valley was led by Silvestre with 13 points.

SWEEP … Marian had the broom out with a 72-45 win in the opener. The Colts were paced by Jacob DelaCruz with 15 points, Jim Connor with 14 and Nick Shingo with 10.

SHENANDOAH

Silvestre 6-1-1-13, Salguero 3-1-4-7. Burke 3-0-0-6, Najda 2-2-2-6, Maksimik 2-0-2-4, Boris 1-0-3-3, Taylor 1-0-0-3, Lopez 1-0-0-2, Rivera 1-0-0-2, Monaghan 0-0-0-0, Maldonado 0-0-0-0, Reyes 0-0-0-0, McCole 0-0-0-0, Teter 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-4-12-46.

MARIAN

Thomas 6-1-3-17, Jam. Rodino 6-2-7-14, Currie 5-0-0-11, Je. Rodino 4-0-0-8, Tom 2-0-0-4, Miller 1-1-1-3, Ju. DeLaCruz 1-0-0-3, Rosario 1-0-0-2, Griguoli 1-0-0-2, Hopeck 0-0-2-0, Ja DeLaCruz 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-4-13-64.

Shenandoah 13 8 10 10 – 46

Marian 8 19 26 11 - 64

Three-pointers: Shenandoah - Boris 1, Taylor 1. Marian - Thomas 4, Currie 1, DeLaCruz 1.