The Marian faithful savored all the pregame ceremonies that came with Senior Night.

Then the Colts got down to business.

Marian’s efforts were rewarded with a 68-51 Schuylkill League win against Weatherly on Tuesday – one that keeps the Colts in the driver’s seat for the Division 3 crown.

“Me and my team, we put in a lot of work,” said senior Tyler Fritz. “To be able to finish like this in our last game at home, it’s incredible.

“It’s the last time I’ll put on this jersey on this floor, so it was special.”

So was Fritz.

The area’s leading scorer dropped a game-high 34 points, helping Marian (18-3, 10-2) pull away in the second half.

Fritz, who scored 17 points in each half, found Dante Agosti for a three on the opening possession of the third quarter to extend the Colts’ lead to 33-26. The shot created some breathing room and jumpstarted a 9-2 run.

“It’s hard to stop the momentum,” said Agosti. “Once all of us start hitting shots, they are going in all the time.”

Marian went 14-of-26 from the floor in the second half. But a 1-for-10 stretch earlier helped the Wreckers climb back into it.

Weatherly (8-12; 2-10) put together a 16-4 run to cut the deficit to 21-20 with 3:35 to play in the first half.

The teams traded baskets on their next four possessions, with Mason Gerhart’s putback pulling the Wreckers within 25-24 at the 1:38 mark. But a three from Fritz, and a basket by senior Chris Ritsick (12 points) made it 30-24.

Two free throws from Scotty Zoscin brought Weatherly within 30-26 at the intermission.

“I think he (Weatherly head coach Corey Gerhart) does a great job; you always have to game plan against them,” said Marian mentor John Patton. “Even when they got down 13 (17-4), they didn’t panic and they got themselves back into the game. At halftime we told them, it’s going to be that kind of game. They’re a good, scrappy, hard-nosed team.

“They’re in the passing lanes, and they make you earn everything you get. And I thought our guys held their composure, and made a couple of big shots there in that run early in the third quarter.”

Ritsick finished with 12 points, while Agosti recorded five of his seven in the third as the Colts built a 51-37 advantage. Marian never led by less than 12 points the rest of the way.

“I think it’s big when we have other guys making shots,” said Patton. “You can see with Tyler and some of the passes he makes to guys, he’s got confidence in them, and they have confidence (in themselves).

“We’re going to miss shots. That’s what we do; we shoot the ball. But it’s what you do on the defensive end. Early on in that run, when they got back into it, we missed some shots and didn’t get back on defense and that hurt us. But in the second half ... we did a better job.”

Zoscin finished with 29 points for the Wreckers.

LOOKING AHEAD

... The victory sets up a showdown at Nativity on Friday. The Hilltoppers (9-3 D3) defeated Williams Valley on Tuesday to stay one game back of Marian in the standings. “We have a chance to get to the Schuylkill League Tournament, which is important,” said Patton. “For the program, it’s huge to be able to get there, and play at Martz Hall. That opportunity is in front of us, but we have to go against a team that’s really hot.”

MILESTONE

... Zoscin reached 1,000 career points with 1:48 to play in the first quarter. “It means a lot,” said Zoscin. “Once I got it, all the weight came off my shoulders and then it was back to business ... Just tried to throw that aside and celebrate later. But I’m super happy that I got it.”

IN MEMORIUM

... A moment of silence was heard before the start of the game for Marian senior Lexi Tessitore, who recently passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash last July.

WEATHERLY

Colecio 3-0-0-6, E. Derr 0-0-0-0, Gerhart 4-0-1-8, Zoscin 10-5-5-29, Obert 0-0-0-0, Broskoskie 1-0-0-2, Willis 1-0-0-2, Tomkins 0-0-0-0, Lowman 1-0-2-2, Ramirez 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 21-5-8-51.

MARIAN

T. Fritz 12-4-7-34, Ritsick 5-0-0-12, Agosti 3-0-0-7, L. Fritz 2-0-0-5, Malarkey 2-0-0-4, Goff 0-2-2-2, Cerullo 0-0-0-0, Eroh 1-0-0-2, Cervasio 0-2-2-2, Hnat 0-0-0-0, Nyer 0-0-0-0, Wargo 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-8-11-68.

Weatherly 6 20 11 14 - 51

Marian 17 13 21 17 - 68

Three-pointers: Weatherly - Zoscin 4; Marian - T. Fritz 6, Ritsick 2, Agosti 1, L. Fritz 1.