Both the Marian and Lehighton boys basketball teams were digging it Monday night.

The Colts were digging points early and often. The Indians were digging a hole for themselves. In the end, it showed in a 70-55 Marian victory.

The Colts had more firepower early, especially from unheralded Brandon Sabulsky, who dropped a 22-spot on the Indians going a torrid 10-for-12 from the field. Sabulsky was just one of three players in double-digits for the winners, who improved to 1-1. Superb all-state guard Tyler Fritz added 19 points and “Big Shooter” Chris Ritsick jacked in 11.

But Sabulsky was probably the biggest thorn in the Indians’ side — a point that wasn’t lost on Lehighton coach Trevor Miller.

“He found a way to get it done and that’s to his credit,” said Miller. “But we dug ourselves a big hole in the first half.

“I’ll say this from a positive standpoint we battled, and we battled hard.”

Miller was referencing an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter when his team tried making up a seemingly insurmountable 23-point deficit.

“I thought Tyler Fritz kept us in the game early and when they went to a smaller lineup, it really opened up the middle of the floor for Brandon (Sabulsky),” said Marian coach John Patton. “Tyler draws so much attention ... there aren’t double teams for everybody. Ritsick also hit some big shots today. He struggled a little bit but he hit some shots that helped us build the lead. He also he did a good job running the offense.”

Marian bolted from a 9-7 lead to a 19-11 advantage on Sabulsky’s hot shooting. The 6-2 junior poured in the final six points in the frame for the Colts.

The Colts continued to pull away at the start of the second quarter as Fritz sank the first five points. He started with a nifty move in the paint, before adding a steal, a layup, and a foul conversion. Then the Colts really started to dig it and buried the Indians over the final 3:37 of the quarter. Marian ran off 10 straight points and when Ritsick zipped in a triple the lead had ballooned to 40-20.

“You know one of the big things in our favor tonight was our home crowd,” said Patton plugging the avid student section. “Our students really got into the game from the first tip. That really got our adrenalin flowing. I thought that was such a big factor.”

Indeed the pumped up crowd carried over into the third quarter where the Colts built the lead to 57-34.

Yet the Indians weren’t looking for a warm bus ride home just yet. Zack Hunsicker, who led his team with 16, juiced home nine in the final quarter with all but two of those points coming at the start of the final eight minutes. Marian put the skids to the rally when Ritsick sank a foul, Sabulsky put back a miss and Keith McCall got free inside for an easy basket to end any Indian comeback hopes.

LIKING IT LIKE THAT … Lehighton’s Hunsicker is a dynamite player. He can shoot a short-range jumper and is extremely lethal from the foul line extended. A real soft touch for the lefty. Also, keep an eye on the Indians’ Addison Howland. He connected for 10 points and, together with Hunsicker, will give the Indians a nice 1-2 punch down the road.

QUOTABLE … “He’s a heady player and makes a living of getting to where he needs to be and in a game like this he excels,” Patton said about Sabulsky, who also finished with 12 rebounds. “He’s able to get off his feet and finish.”

SWEEPING IT … Marian outlasted the Indians in the opener 48-43 led by Logan Fritz’s 14 and Nick Goff 10. Rich Yturrino tossed in 12 points and teammate Noah Wolverton 10 for the Indians.

LEHIGHTON

Hunsicker 7-1-2-16, Howland 3-3-4-10, Schotz 3-0-1-6, Heery 2-0-0-5, Crum 2-1-4-5, Potts 2-0-0-4, Schwab 1-0-0-3, Yturrino 0-2-2-2, Acosta 1-0-0-2, Strauss 1-0-0-2, Haydt 0-0-0-0, Smith 0-0-0-0, Beers 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-7-13-55.

MARIAN

Sabulsky 10-2-2-22, T. Fritz 6-6-8-19, Ritsick 3-2-4-11, Agosti 1-3-4-5, McCall 2-0-0-5, Cerullo 1-0-0-2, Grutza 2-0-1-4, Rickert 1-0-0-2, Latoff 0-0-0-0, Eroh 0-0-0-0, Hnat 0-0-0-0, Cervasio 0-0-0-0, L. Fritz 0-0-0-0, Malarkey 0-0-0-0, Goff 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-13-19-70.

Lehighton 11 9 14 11 - 55

Marian 19 21 17 13 - 70

Three-pointers: Lehighton - Heery 1, Hunsicker 1, Schwab 1, Howland 1. Marian - Ritsick 3, T. Fritz 1, McCall 1.