Take what the other team gives you.

Marian played a disciplined, physical and fundamental style of basketball against Schuylkill League Division 2 foe Weatherly on Thursday night and it paid off, as the Colts defeated the Wreckers 54-30.

Marian jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first quarter by penetrating into the paint and finishing at the rim.

Jake Tom started off the run with a runner plus the foul, and Rocco Griguoli and Jacob DeLaCruz added layups to get the Colts off to a good start.

“Good things happen when you get into the paint and when you get to the rim. As coaches, we were really harping on that. I thought we could’ve looked inside even more than we did, but our guys did a good job,” said Marian head coach Paul Brutto.

“We want to play from the paint out. We want to take our shots, as we step into them, from that pass from the post out to our shooters. Those are the easiest shots to take. It’s something we’ve really been stressing to our guys, and I’m pleased to see where we’re at with it.”

The Colts continued to lead throughout the first holding a 12-7 advantage at the end of one, and then increased their lead to nine at the half to carry a 21-12 edge into the break. The Wreckers stayed close for most of the second, but a 6-2 Marian run at the end of the frame made it a nine-point gap.

Weatherly struggled mightily on the offensive end in the first half. The Wreckers shot just 3-for-27 from the field, and 2-for-14 from the three-point line with Ian McKeegan knocking down two triples in the first quarter.

Marian’s physicality also was an issue for Weatherly in the first half, as it out-rebounded the Wreckers 22-11. Greg Tirpak was a big reason for that, as the sophomore tallied eight boards during that span. Big man junior Jimmy Cannon came off the bench and gave the Colts some good minutes in the first half, leading them with six points.

“Overall, I thought we did a good job on the boards tonight. Rocco and Greg and the DeLaCruz brothers are all pretty good rebounders, and they did a nice job. Any time you can limit a team to mostly one-and-done, they have to shoot it pretty well to beat you,” said Brutto.

“I also want to give credit to Jimmy Cannon for coming in and making an impact for us. He has high basketball I.Q., and he has good footwork. His six points were a big spark for us at that time in the game.”

The Wreckers’ shooting woes continued in the third, as they went just 3-of-13, and the Colts’ offense continued to stick with its recipe of getting to the rim. Marian focused on the post game, getting the ball inside to the 6-4 Griguoli, who had six points in the quarter.

Another strong finish to the frame — a 6-0 run — gave the Colts a 33-18 lead going into the fourth. Dominick Kokinda had a few nice put-backs for Weatherly in the quarter, scoring six points.

“We didn’t move the ball quickly, and we didn’t move the ball well,” said Weatherly head coach Luke Medico. “I thought that we didn’t run our offense, and we settled for a lot of outside shots tonight.

“This is a great group of players. But energetically, this was not a good performance. We’re a good team, but tonight proved we have a lot of work to do. And also credit to Marian. They cut off our penetration very well, and they did a really good job of getting the ball into the paint.”

After not hitting a three-pointer in the first three quarters, the Colts did open it up a bit from beyond the arc in the fourth connecting on three shots from deep, with Justin DeLaCruz hitting two trifectas, and Tirpak also knocking one down. DeLaCruz’s second three ended any hint of a Wreckers’ miraculous comeback, as it put the Colts up 20 (47-27) with 1:44 to play.

BOX SCORE … Griguoli scored 11 of his game-high 14 points in the second half, and also hauled in 10 rebounds. Justin DeLaCruz added 10, and Tirpak helped out with seven points and nine boards. For the Wreckers, Corbin Wagner led the way with 13.

MISCUES … On top of a poor shooting night, the Wreckers also committed 14 turnovers. Marian had 12.

WEATHERLY

Adler 0-1-2-1, Kokinda 4-0-1-8, McKeegan 2-0-0-6, Saldukas 1-0-2-2, Davis 0-0-0-0, Wagner 3-6-8-13. TOTALS: 10-7-15-30.

MARIAN

Shigo 1-0-0-2, Tom 2-1-1-5, Nunez 1-2-6-4, Paulino 0-0-0-0, Ju. DeLaCruz 2-4-4-10, Ja. DeLaCruz 3-0-2-6, Tirpak 2-2-3-7, Griguoli 6-2-6-14, Cannon 3-0-1-6. TOTALS: 20-11-20-54.

Weatherly 7 5 6 12 - 30

Marian 12 9 12 21 - 54

Three-pointers: Marian - Ju. DeLaCruz 2, Tirpak 1; Weatherly - McKeegan 2, Wagner 2.

Records: Weatherly (1-1; 0-1); Marian (2-0; 1-0).