Despite the start, there never seemed to be a doubt who was going to win Saturday’s matinee between Marian and Shenandoah Valley.

It just was a matter of time and the eventual final score.

The Colts are starting to feel their oats. Shenandoah, meanwhile, is going to have to figure out what it needs to do to compete, as the Blue Devils were hardly a challenge in Marian’s 66-37 Schuylkill League victory.

Sure, Shenandoah jumped out to an early 10-4 lead before settling for a 13-9 advantage after a period of action. The Blue Devils rode a pair of triples from junior Nick Mikita, and a quarter-ending trey by Luke Matta to go up by four.

But Brandon “The Hammer” Lonergan lowered the boom for the Colts, who also turned to Dante “The Stallion” Agosti to ignite some second-quarter energy.

Agosti, the team’s four-year veteran who went on to tally 12 points, sank a free throw that started a 7-0 run. Lonergan, who finished with a game-high 23 points, used his muscle to score two straight buckets, while a Frank Valente basket set the tone at the onset of the quarter that ended with Marian holding a commanding 30-19 lead.

“We’ve been behind every game,” said Marian head coach John Patton about the early deficit. “We’re starting to put some things together … the three-point shot has been our fallback.”

And it showed, as the Colts poured in seven triples. Agosti had three of those. Valente, who finished with 10 points, sank two, and Dewin Concepcion added two treys as well in his 11-point outing.

Most of the damage, though, was in the paint.

Patton wants his team to work the ball inside-out, and that they did, as Marian held a 41-23 rebounding edge, with Concepcion grabbing eight boards and Valente seven.

“For the second day in a row we came out, got a lot of great shots, knocked them down, made big stops and we were leading at the end (of the first quarter),” said Shenandoah mentor Robbie Miller. “We are out of shape. That’s not making excuses. I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of a game when we were leading after one (quarter) and ended up getting mercy ruled.”

Lonergan proved to be unstoppable in the second quarter. He scored 10 of his team’s 21 points in the period.

“Physically, we’re a pretty big team, not just tall but wide,” Patton said. “(Owen) Kosar’s outstanding. We were able to stop him and give the ball up … he’s just so talented.”

The Colts floored the gas pedal to begin the third quarter, ringing up a quick 12-0 run that opened up a huge advantage. Agosti rolled inside for a bucket, and Logan Fritz added two points, before Lonergan cleared the deck inside for two more points. Valente and Concepcion drained triples to widen the margin to 42-19.

Kosar tallied seven points during a 9-0 spurt that closed the Devils’ deficit to 14 points, but a pair of Concepcion triples and a fast break bucket from Lonergan pushed the gap back to 20 entering the fourth quarter.

Marian closed things out with a 10-0 run to start the final period, with Concepcion accounting for seven of those points.

BY THE NUMBERS … Marian shot 28-of-50 from the floor. After starting 4-of-12, the Colts were 24-of-39 over the final three quarters. The Devils struggled, going just 10-of-44.

HE SAID IT … “We talked to him about being that guy. We rely on him a lot offensively, and defensively he’s a juggernaut,” said Marian coach Patton about his standout player Agosti.

BROOM TIME … Marian swept the day’s action as the JV team rolled, 50-18. Joe Walko led the winners with 10 points, while teammate Jake Bobish finished with nine. Lance Price and Lachlan Segedy each added eight.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Kosar 2-10-11-16, Matta 3-1-3-8, Mikita 3-0-0-8, Boris 2-0-0-5, Maksimik 0-0-0-0, Ryan 0-0-0-0, Najda 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-11-14-37.

MARIAN

Lonergan 11-1-2-23, Agosti 4-1-2-12, Concepcion 4-1-2-11, Valente 4-0-1-10, Fritz 2-0-0-4, Bobish 1-0-0-2, Ch. Chambers 1-0-0-2, Malarkey 1-0-0-2, Currie 0-0-0-0, Ca. Chambers 0-0-0-0, Cerullo 0-0-0-0, Nyer 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 28-3-7-66.

Shenandoah 13 6 11 7 - 37

Marian 9 21 20 16 - 66

Three-pointers: Shenandoah - Kosar 2, Mikta 2, Matta 1, Borris 1; Marian - Agosti 3, Valente 2, Concepcion 2.