MAHANOY CITY – If anyone who follows Schuylkill League boys basketball still has any doubts about how good Mahanoy Area is - or can be - they haven’t been paying attention to early-season results.

This Bears squad - which has hardly been tested through the first month of the season - has plenty of scoring balance, and can dominate at both ends of the floor.

On Thursday night, facing its chief Division 3 rival in Marian, Mahanoy Area used big second and fourth quarters to roll to a 61-38 victory.

The win improves the Bears’ record to 12-0 overall and 5-0 in league play.

The way it‘s been playing, Mahanoy Area could definitely reap some rewards in both league and District 11 play by season’s end.

Despite the huge point differential at the end, Marian was the better team early on - thanks in large part to a brutal 4-for-19 opening-quarter shooting display by the Golden Bears.

That slow-shooting start helped Marian burst to a 17-9 lead as it rode the backs of the Rodino brothers, Jesse and James, who scored seven and four points respectively.

Unfazed and undaunted, Mahanoy showed why it’s undefeated. Its poise, unselfish play, and an uncanny ability to distribute the rock and shoot the triple resulted in one big swoosh as the Bears uncorked a 29-point flurry of points in the second period to build a commanding 38-25 lead at halftime.

“We kind of let it get away there in that second quarter,” said Marian coach Scott Murphy. “They’re a very good team, mind you, but we didn’t do some things that we have to in order to play with a team of that caliber.”

The Colts struggled to figure out how to eliminate turnovers, committing eight in the second period alone.

The winner’s ability to knock down shots up and down the lineup was on full display as six different players scored at least eight points. Tanner Zwada led the way with 14 points. He was followed by Jace Yedsena, Colin McGroarty and the coach’s son Kadin Styka, with 10 points apiece. Chris Cuff’s nine points and Brady Alansky’s eight rounded out the balanced attack.

“Sometimes we do things that can make you think, but when we are on the same page we can do a lot of nice things,” Mahanoy Area coach Teddy Styka said.

The Bears were definitely doing a lot of those nice things in the second quarter as they drilled 9 of 12 shots from behind the arc, including three from Zwada and two from Cuff.

“Sometimes we get on a good roll, and you can see what our kids can do,” coach Styka said. “We are a very well-balanced team, and our kids enjoy passing the ball as much as they enjoy shooting it. Our team chemistry is really great.”

For Marian, it’s now a matter of taking care of business in league play until they meet the Bears again.

“Hey, we’re going to pick the pieces up and get back to do what we’ve been doing for the better part of the season,” Murphy said. “It’s a long season. We’ve got plenty of games to play - and they’ve got to come to our place the next time we face them.”

DUNK FEST ... The leaping talent of Yedsena is special. Three times he flushed home dunks - the third on a dynamic feed from Zwada, who flipped the ball off the glass to a trailing Yedsena on a breakaway. In one athletic motion, the 6-1 junior caught the ball off the bank and slammed it home.

DIGGING IN ON DEFENSE … Mahanoy is not just an offensive threat, it also defends suberbly as Marian managed just 21 points over the final three quarters and was forced into 26 turnovers.

QUOTEABLE … “The Rodino brothers are warriors. They played with so much heart. I can’t say enough about their overall play.” Murphy said.

MARIAN

Miller 2-2-4-8, Rosario 0-0-0-0, Ja. De La Cruz 0-0-0-0, Nunez 0-0-0-0, Je. Rodino 5-3-4-13, Tom 0-0-0-0, Thomas 0-0-0-0, Currie 2-2-4-7, Ja. Rodino 5-0-0-10, Hopeck 0-0-0-0, Griguoli 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-7-12-38.

MAHANOY AREA

Mayberry 0-0-0-0, Yedsena 4-2-4-10, Cuff 4-0-2-9, Zawada 4-3-4-14, Oblas 0-0-0-0, Alansky 4-0-0-8, Styka 4-1-3-10, Manley 0-0-0-0, McGroarty 4-0-0-10, Rhoades 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-6-13-61.

Marian 17 8 7 6 - 38

Mahanoy Area 9 29 8 15 - 61

Three-pointers: Marian - Miller 2, Currie 1; Mahanoy Area - Zawada 3, McGroarty 2, Cuff 1, Styka 1.