At first, it seemed like Tuesday night’s game between Panther Valley and Marian was going to be just like it was when the two teams met earlier this season.

In that Dec. 2 game, PV jumped out to a 22-7 first quarter lead and never struggled.

Last night, the Panthers took a big early lead again, jumping out to a 14-0 advantage. But this time, the Colts staged an impressive comeback and even went ahead for a brief time in the second quarter.

Ultimately, the Panthers picked up the tempo in the second half and fought off the Colts’ challenge to eventually emerge with a 66-56 non-league victory.

The Panthers were up by just four points (40-36) midway through the third quarter before riveting scoring by juniors Stephen Hood and Drew Kokinda catapulted them into a big lead. Hood scored eight unanswered points in the last two minutes of the third quarter. Kokinda then connected on eight straight points in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter.

Panther Valley head coach Pat Crampsie said he was happy with the way his team answered Marian’s threat.

“I thought our kids did a great job tonight,” he said. “They didn’t panic.”

For the Panthers, the biggest annoyance was Marian’s 6-2 junior guard Julius Currie, who virtually single-handedly brought his team back when things looked the bleakest.

After PV took it’s 14-0 lead, Currie scored 11 consecutive points - four baskets including a trio of three-pointers. An added bucket by Chris Chambers early in the second made the score 14-13 in favor of PV.

Midway through the second quarter, the Colts managed to take leads of 18-17 and 21-20. But the enjoyment of being ahead didn’t last.

“In the third quarter we were really focused on the ball and forcing turnovers,” Crampsie said.

However, even after opening a 16-point fourth-quarter lead, the Panthers couldn’t seal the victory, as once again Marian fought back and got to within five with 1:31 remaining.

The Colts were then forced to foul, and the Panthers connected on five of six free throws in the final minute.

First-year Marian head coach Scott Murphy said he was pleased with the effort from his players, noting that the only thing he would’ve done differently is “turn up the full-court intensity a little sooner.”

Murphy said he was impressed that his team came back after being down 14-0, and was especially happy with Currie’s play. “He scored a number of different ways,” Murphy said. “He was aggressive. He posed some problems for them for sure.”

Talking about his team falling behind by double-digits again in the fourth quarter, Murphy said, “We fought back again. It was a great effort from our guys. It’s a new program, a new culture and we’re trying to figure out who we are.

“Early into the season we’ve been tested by some very, very good teams and Panther Valley is one of them.”

TOP SCORERS ... Chase Weaver was the top scorer for Panther Valley (7-2) with 20 points, followed by Hood with 18 and Kokinda with 17. For Marian (2-5), Currie had 28 points including six three pointers. Frank Valente had 10.

CHECKING THE STATS ... From the floor, PV hit on 23-of-35 field goal attempts while Marian shot 20-for-54. Marian out-rebounded the Panthers 25-24. Jesse Rodino had 12 boards for Marian while Hood pulled in 10 for PV.

SOPHOMORE STARTER ... Sophomore Logan Fisher was a starter in the past two games for Panther Valley. “Logan has played very well for us,” said Crampsie. “The last game against Southern Columbia, Logan did a good job, and he did a good job again tonight. You need someone around the post to handle the ball.”

PANTHER VALLEY

B. Hood 0-0-0-0, Pascoe 1-1-2-3, S. Hood 7-1-4-18, Kokinda 6-1-1-17, Weaver 6-5-6-20, Hadley 1-0-0-2, Goida 1-2-3-4, Fisher 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 23-10-16-66.

MARIAN

Ramirez 0-2-2-2, Miller 1-0-0-3, Chambers 2-0-2-4, Jesse Rodino 4-0-0-9, Walko 0-0-0-0, Currie 11-0-2-28, Valente 4-0-0-10. TOTALS: 22-2-6-56.

Panther Valley 14 12 25 15 - 66

Marian 8 16 14 18 - 56

Three-pointers: Panther Valley - Kokinda 4, S. Hood 3, Weaver 3; Marian - Currie 6, Valente 2, Miller 1, Jesse Rodino 1.