After some smooth sailing to start the season, the boat has begun to sink for Marian.

And - at the present time - it seems like the Colts can’t find any life preservers or a way to right the ship.

Minersville, however, is moving in the opposite direction, as evidenced by its 56-36 Schuylkill League victory Thursday evening in Hometown.

“Right now we’re at a crossroads, trying to figure out how to get better between now and February,” said Marian head coach Scott Murphy, whose team dropped its fourth straight game.

Just like its season, the Colts got off to a good start by scoring the game’s first eight points. But the Miners quickly responded with eight unanswered, including a dunk by Dante Carr.

Bruce Hopeck drained three three-pointers in the frame, giving Marian hope despite trailing 15-14 at the end of the quarter.

The two teams were knotted 19-19 at the 4:08 mark of the second period before Minersville went on a mini 12-5 run, highlighted by four free throws for Lorenzo Yourey and two more dunks from Carr.

“He’s a great athlete, such an unselfish kid … he just wants to win,” said Minersville mentor Dave Mullaney about Carr, who finished with 14 points.

The outcome was far from over, though, as the Colts (8-6; 3-3) found some pizzaz in the third quarter. AJ Thomas, James Rodino and Hopeck sparked the home team to help close the margin to 34-32 midway through the period.

But after a timeout, Minersville got its swagger back. Bradley Kostishak, who led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, tossed in five - as did Yourey - to stop Marian’s momentum.

“He had an amazing offseason, he really committed to us particularly over the summer,” said Mullaney about the 6-1 Kostishak, who was 4-for-5 from three-point range. “He’s a post player by trade, and we’re trying to make him a perimeter player.”

Jesse Rodino helped keep Marian within striking distance, as his bucket to open the stretch run made it 44-36.

The Miners didn’t panic, though, and reeled off the game’s final 12 points to improve to 9-5 overall and 3-3 in the league.

“I was proud of our kids, the way (Marian) threw some things at us,” said Mullaney. “I thought all our kids stepped up, and this was a really big win for us on the road.

“I thought Lorenzo Yourey and Bradley Kostishak hit some really big shots for us. When (Marian) was doing everything to take Dante (Carr) away, they really stepped up for us.”

Yourey added 15 points to the winning cause, which keeps Minersville two games back of Tri-Valley and Schuylkill Haven in the Division 2 race.

“Our transition (game) really helped us tonight,” said Mullaney.

So much so, that Marian never could find a balancing act to steady the ship.

BANG … Minersville shot 23-of-53 from the floor, compared to Marian’s 15-of-55. Murphy said his team was just 4-of-28 from behind the arc.

JESSE AND JAMES … The Rodino brothers continue to shine for the Colts. Jesse had a monster night rebounding with 17. Hopeck led Marian with 13 points. The Miners held a 38-34 advantage in rebounding. Carr ended with 13 for the winners.

SPLITS … Marian took the JV game, 35-29. Rocco Griguoli and Justin DeLaCruz both had eight points to pace the Colts.

MINERSVILLE

Kostishak 8-2-2-22, Yourey 5-4-11-15, Carr 5-4-7-14, Halford 1-0-0-3, Hutsko 1-0-0-2, Eisenhart 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-10-15-56.

MARIAN

Hopeck 5-0-0-13, Ja. Rodino 4-0-0-8, Je. Rodino 3-2-4-6. Miller 2-0-0-4, Jac. DelaCruz 1-0-0-3, Currie 0-0-0-0, Tom 0-0-0-0, Thomas 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-2-7-36.

Minersville 15 16 13 12 - 56

Marian 14 10 10 2 - 36

Three-pointers: Minersville - Kostishak 4, Yourey 1, Halford 1; Marian - Hopeck 3, DelaCruz 1.