When a youthful Bob Fulton returned to his Pennsylvania roots from Westfield, New Jersey, in the summer of 1969, he promised those around his new place of employment an “Exciting World of Basketball at Marian,” a catchphrase that in no time became the well-known slogan of a program he was about to build.

In almost no time at all, armed with what he’ll tell you was a tremendous support system and a bevy of talented players, Fulton and the Colts reached the pinnacle of the Marian cage program, laying claim to the PCIAA Class B State Championship, the first state title in any sport in the school’s history.

That was 50 years ago tomorrow – March 20, 1971 – with this coming weekend marking the golden anniversary of Marian’s first gold, which set the bar that Colt and Fillie athletic programs to this day strive to reach.

Following a 17-6 campaign in his first season in Hometown, Fulton’s ‘70-71 team recorded a 25-4 record - then the most wins in a season by a Colt team. It claimed Marian’s first-ever Allentown Diocese championship before capping off the memorable campaign with the state title. In the process, Marian established itself as a premier program in Northeastern Pennsylvania and points beyond.

The Blue and Gold left its mark on Marian athletic history on a snowy night at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe where the Colts defeated St. Basil’s of Pittsburgh, 67-48, for the state championship before some 2,700 fans, including more than 1,500 Marian supporters who bought advance tickets for the twinbill (more than the other three teams playing that night had sold combined).

A new era

It was the beginning of the “Colt Country” frenzy.

“I remember there was a new excitement in the building, a new excitement about Marian basketball,” recalled Frank Yusella, a key member of the team who became known to Marian fans as “The General,” because of his keen floor leadership in addition to his tremendous ball-handling and shooting capabilities.

Looking back, the team co-captain recalled, “The championship team was a blend of height, speed and quickness. With hard work and motivation from a newly-hired coach the year before, we became a formidable adversary. Coach Fulton was a coach ahead of his time. With his leadership, discipline and creativity, we were blessed to be able to win (A) state championship.”

As for the game itself, the St. Basil’s Sabres presented a monumental challenge to the history-making Colts. Coached by John “Red” Ryan, they brought a 22-1 record into the game and a reputation of being a tough man-to-man team, however, the Colts were not to be denied, catapulting to the top of the state with a pressure defense and balanced scoring attack led by John “Teppy” Teprovich, who became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 22 points that night, giving him 1,112 for his career.

Yusella added 13 points, Joe “Brick” Balascik, the Colts’ powerful 6-4 center, amassed 12, and forward Joe Prekopa netted 11.

“I remember the kids handling adversity very very well,” said Fulton, now 83 and a resident of Eagle Rock in Luzerne County.

Challenging season

The Colts actually had a very challenging season, going 5-1 in nonleague play at the outset, including a pair of wins over rival Panther Valley, (85-73 and 71-56), and split in two games with Palmerton (60-49 and 50-54). They lost two in a row at the outset of the Anthracite League play, coming up short against Bishop Hafey, 63-58, and West Hazleton, 56-55, before going on a 14-game winning streak, including a 66-51 win over West Hazleton to win the second half crown of the AL.

In a game played before 3,000 fans at the spacious St. Joe’s Gym in Hazleton, they lost the league title playoff game just a few days later to the Wildcats, 63-46. It was the team’s last loss of the season, preceding the history-making six-game run that saw them claim the state title.

“After we lost to West Hazleton, there was still the diocesan playoffs, and we hadn’t ever won that title, so that was a big deal,” Fulton recalled.

“Against West Hazleton, we weren’t prepared for what they did defensively; didn’t counter correctly; but the kids didn’t stop working. They were amazing. They came right back to practice and said ‘this is never going to happen again.’”

Road to championship

Fulton said the “amazing attitude of the kids” carried into the Allentown Diocese playoffs, where the Colts won three games and the school’s first-ever diocesan crown.

In the opener, they overwhelmed Pius X of Roseto, winning 81-42 in displaying tremendous balanced scoring.

Teprovich tallied 25 points, followed by Balascik with 18, Yusella with 14, and Joe Prekopa with 12.

Three nights later, the top-seeded Colts blasted away any aspirations defending state champion Holy Name of Reading may have entertained of emulating its 1970 PCIAA Class B state championship, defeating the Blue Jays 66-46.

“Those games were very competitive,” Yusella remembered, “Holy Name was the state champion the year before ... they had a very good team, so the challenge was very difficult.”

Yusella, considered by most the best player in the Anthracite League, embellished his bid for a spot on the all state team with an outstanding performance in that tilt.

He sparked the Colts offensively, but his overall play is what caught the fancy of the crowd. He controlled the action and led the Colts in scoring with 16 points. Mike Prekopa came off the bench to tally 13 points, while Teprovich added 10.

The win sent the Colts into the diocesan championship game where they would face another Reading squad, Central Catholic.

With Yusella, Teprovich and Balascik all scoring in double figures, the Blue and Gold prevailed, winning its first-ever Class B diocesan crown, 66-48, and earning the squad a ticket to the PCIAA intradiocese playoffs.

Its first encounter in the state tournament was a date with Philadelphia Diocese titan Holy Ghost Prep of Cornwall Heights. The Firebirds’ 22-3 record matched almost evenly with Marian’s record.

The Colts prevailed, edging the Firebirds, 67-64, in the Eastern Regional encounter before an emotionally-spent standing-room-only crowd at the Bethlehem Catholic gymnasium.

Wally Yext, described by home announcer Frank Keip as “Mr. Excitement,” rallied the Colts in the third period and, along with Teprovich, provided the game-winning heroics in the final period, Yext’s driving basket late in the fourth stanza gave the Colts a 65-61 lead that was never headed.

Five Colts ended up in double digits in the scoring column, led by Teprovich’s 18, 15 by Joe Prekopa, 12 by Yusella, 11 by Yext and 10 by Balascik, as the Colts advanced to the Eastern Final.

Bishop Hannan of Scranton was next, and Balascik left many with the impression he was bigger than his already massive 6-4 frame. After picking up three quick fouls in the first quarter, he came off the bench at the start of the second half and scored 22 points to lead the Colts to the Eastern championship, a 70-65 win.

The Times News article about the game read, “Balascik’s second half performance, a word, tremendous. Not only was he the sparkplug that the Colts needed, but his work on the boards was another of the key factors which provided the streaking Marian club to its most important victory to date in the history of the school.”

In addition to Balascik’s 22 points, the Colts got 17 from Teprovich, 12 from Joe Prekopa and 11 from Yext as they earned a trip to the state title game.

Looking back

Yusella pointed out the game-to-game challenges “were very tough.”

“The Holy Name and Hannan games, in particular, were especially tough matchups,” Yusella said. “They both had great players and were well coached. At that level, everybody you will go up against is good, so the road was very challenging.”

Looking back, Yext said, “In retrospect, it was a very positive experience that demonstrated to me what teamwork, focus and a common shared goal can achieve under great leadership. I also believe that common shared goal among my teammates created a kindred spirit until this day.”

Discussing the state title game itself back then, Fulton said, “It was our defense that came through for us again. We had to make some adjustments when Joe (Balascik) got in foul trouble early, but Mike (Prekopa) did the job when Joe was out.”

When asked if it was the biggest win of his high school coaching career, Fulton offered, “Every time you win, it’s big, but when you culminate a successful season with a state title, it has to be considered your greatest victory.”

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BOXSCORE

MARIAN

Joe Prekopa 4-3-5-11, Joe Balascik 5-2-2-12, John Teprovich 6-10-12-22, Frank Yusella 4-5-7-13, Wally Yext 2-3-4-7, Mike Prekopa 1-0-2-2, Bob Schlosser 0-0-2-0, Terry McElmoyle 0-0-1-0, Rich Segilia, John Knox, Thad Kosciolek, Jerry Senglar, Mike Makara, Bob Crampsie, all 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-23-35-67.

ST. BASIL’S

Miller 4-5-7-13, Joyce 3-2-2-8, McCool 3-1-1-7, Rogers 3-3-7-5, Banaszak 3-1-1-7, Holser 1-0-0-2, Krayzo 1-1-2-3, Ruscitto 0-0-0-0, McDermott 1-1-2-3. TOTALS: 17-14-22-48

Marian 20 10 16 21 – 67

St. Basil’s 16 10 8 14 – 48

Officials: Tony Klin and Dick Burke