Linville Hill has a knack of playing old school basketball.

And on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the Class 2A state playoffs, the Warriors took Marian to school in Jack Malarkey Gymnasium, 77-42, ending a season of ups and downs for the Colts.

The way Linville plays could be called Basketball 101. The Warriors pass, cut, find the open man, and seldom use the over-rated three-point shot.

Oh, and they also rebound.

“I told our kids that if we are going to lose, we are not going to lose to a team that will outhustle us,” said Linville head coach Mike Schatzmann. “That’s our philosophy … we have five guys on the floor, looking for each other. I personally don’t care who shoots the basketball as long as it’s a good shot.”

That means not always throwing bombs up from the outside, which has become common in the game today. For the Warriors, it’s just basic A, B, C play.

Linville, for sure, is a well-balanced team and one can surmise that by just looking at the boxscore. All five starters ended in double-figure scoring, with Derain Petersheim leading the way. Petersheim not only scored 22 points, but also added nine rebounds.

Along with Petersheim, Giovanni Sejuste skied for 17 points and 15 rebounds — 11 off the offensive glass. Stephen Smucker poured in 14 points, while Drew Tibbins contributed 12 and Jerome Stoltzfus added 11.

What was equally as impressive from a team standpoint for the Warriors was the fact they outrebounded Marian by a 44-17 margin.

Unfortunately for the Colts, the District 11 champions, they struggled all afternoon to find any semblance of offense.

The Warriors’ quickness was a huge problem for Marian, who was led by Jacob De La Cruz’s 18 points. Linville was able to shut down super frosh Greg Tirpak — held to just three points — and the inside power game of Rocco Griguoli, who did manage to finish with 11.

“We (scouted) them and knew they couldn’t handle pressure, so we wanted to shut their threes off,” Schatzmann explained about the Warriors game plan. “Their coach does a nice job with a young team that they have, no doubt about that. They’re a three-point (shooting team), and they looked like they didn’t want to drive.”

As for the winners, they ran their offense to perfection. They fired up a grand total of just nine three-point shots, while weaving inside, cutting into the lane. That approach floored Marian, as the visitors roared in front 12-2 on the way to a commanding and impressive 21-10 lead after the first quarter.

Sejuste was precise, strong, and his ability to elevate surfaced early and often. The senior poured in eight first-quarter points, while Petersheim — who his coach called the team’s main three-point shooter, nailed a pair of triples in the first frame.

The only thing that bothered Linville’s coach was the late rally by the Colts to end the first half.

“I was a little upset at halftime, because we gave them about four or five threes that they shouldn’t have had,” Schatzmann said, obviously looking for perfection from a team that is nearly perfect in how to play the game.

Linville continued to run perfect sets up and down the floor as it raced to a 34-16 lead with 3:53 to play in the opening half. And there was plenty of balance in the rally.

Sejuste and Smucker each hit for six points, Petersheim added five and Tibbins dropped in four.

“Linville is extremely well-coached, they’re a veteran group and put it on full display,” said Marian mentor Scott Murphy.

Marian was trying to search for answers, but to no avail.

Linville never missed a beat through the final two quarters, and eventually put the game into mercy rule midway through the final period.

“Our hard work on the floor, and passing the ball (has taken) us a long way,” Schatzmann said.

DISCIPLINE … The Warriors are very disciplined. They look for the open man, know how to set screens, picks and great passing. They don’t take many shots from behind the arc, but did hit on six — all by Petersheim. Coach Schatzmann called the point guard “our designated” 3-point shooter.

QUICK AND LOOSE … Linville was by far the quicker team. It used a tough defense, causing Marian to struggle with its offense.

LETTING LOOSE … The Warriors shot an amazing 32-of-48 from the floor By contrast, Marian was 16-of-48.

SWAN SONG … Murphy was emotional about his two departing seniors — Dylan Rodino and Bryan Ferreira. He called them “better men” for their dedication.

LINVILLE HILL

Petersheim 7-2-2-22, Sejuste 7-3-3-17, Smucker 7-0-0-14, Tibbins 6-0-2-12, Je. Stoltzfus 5-1-2-11, Jo. Stoltzfus 0-1-2-1, King 0-0-0-0, Ty. Stoltzfus 0-0-0-0, Westfall 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 32-7-11-77.

MARIAN

Ja. De La Cruz 7-0-0-18, Griguoli 4-3-5-11, Nunez 2-0-0-5, Tirpak 1-0-0-3, Ju. De La Cruz 1-0-1-3, Ferreira 1-0-0-2, Knock 0-0-0-0, Acosta 0-0-0-0, Rodino 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-3-6-42.

Linville Hill 21 24 18 14 - 77

Marian 10 14 12 6 - 42

Three-pointers: Linville Hill - Petersheim 6; Marian - Ja. De La Cruz 4, Tirpak 1, Ju. De La Cruz 1, Nunez 1.

Records: Linville Hill (25-3); Marian (13-12).