POTTSVILLE – First there was a thud, then a roar that echoed throughout Martz Hall.

Those were two sounds that the Marian boys basketball team didn’t need to hear as time was about to expire in its game with Tri-Valley in the District 11 Class 2A semifinals Tuesday.

Somehow, fortune leapt from the Marian bench to the Bulldogs side. The Colts seemed well in command when they built a surprising 19-point lead and looked like they were about to coast into the championship round to meet Shenandoah Valley, which blitzed past Mahanoy Area in the other semifinal.

But it’s not over till it’s over.

And when Tri-Valley senior Kade Deeter let loose with a step-back shot that went swoosh as the buzzer sounded, his three-point basket sent the Bulldogs to a stunning 55-52 come-from-behind victory over Marian.

Few thought it was possible for No. 2 seed Tri-Valley to make up ground the way it played at the outset.

“We had our heads hanging at halftime; we challenged them,” said longtime Bulldogs coach Mike Masser.

Marian, seeded third, had gotten out to a 33-19 halftime lead, which ballooned to a 38-19 advantage when super sophomore sharpshooter Julius Currie drained his fifth trey of the contest.

But, Currie’s scoring was kept in check after that, despite leading his team with 17 points. Currie took just two shots in the entire second half. He shot 6-for-12 from the floor overall.

“Obviously, he was killing us,” Musser would lament.

What Tri-Valley did better than it had in the first half was force Marian into 11 second-half turnovers, cut down its own miscues with just three in the second half, and engage a half-court trap defense.

“We just didn’t do a very good job in the second half,” said Marian coach John Patton. “Usually, we’re the team that comes (from behind). We tried a bunch of things (defensively). We had turnovers, we missed a bunch of shots.”

The Colts went 4-of-12 from the floor in the final eight minutes, compared to 13-for-30 over the first two periods. They shot 5-of-11 in the third quarter.

Marian became passive, and looked frustrated as the fourth chapter started to come into play. It resembled Tri-Valley’s first-half script, a team that floundered without any sense of direction.

In the third, the Colts’ scoring found Jesse Rodino netting a bucket, while Currie buried his fifth and final trey. Brendan Lonergan kissed one off the glass for a deuce, before Rodino hit his second bucket of the period.

Frankie Valente buried a trey with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter to up the score to 45-29. When Tri-Valley scored the final five points of the period, it cut the deficit to 45-34.

Tri-Valley started to slowly build momentum in the fourth period, chopping the deficit to a manageable 45-38 with 6:37 to play.

Marian had, perhaps, its last answer with back-to-back baskets from Valente making to make it 49-38.

But the Bulldogs countered, going on an 8-2 run to make it 50-46. When Lonergan sank two foul shots at the 2:45 mark, little did anyone realize it would be his team’s last scoring of the evening.

Lucas Troutman sank the back-end of a two-shot foul for Tri-Valley, before Smith used his guile and determination to uplift his team when he posted a backdoor bucket complements of a Deeter pass.

And when Marian committed a turnover with 1:23 remaining, Smith was fouled on a three-point attempt.

The 6-2 senior guard calmly made all three of the his shots to tie the game. Then Marian failed to convert, as the Bulldogs wound down the clock.

TWIST OF FATE

… The Colts shot 22-of-53, while Tri-Valley was 17-for-44, including a 13-of-25 effort in the second half. Marian had 35 rebounds, five more than the Dawgs.

LEADING THE WAY

…Both sides had three in double digits. Currie was the leader for the Colts with 17, while Lonergan had 16 and Valente added 12. Deeter, who had a quiet first half with six points, led all scorers with 21, while Smith stuffed in 20 points and Layne Yoder added 10.

CIAO

… Three Marian players bid adieu for their careers – Logan Fritz, Lonergan and Jose Espaillat-Turbi. The latter was ineligible for the postseason due to transfer rules.

MARIAN

Currie 6-0-0-17, Lonergan 7-2-04-16, Valente 5-1-2-12, Jes Rodino 3-0-0-6, Walko 1-2-1, Fritz 0-0-0-0, Ferrara 0-0-0-0, Ramirez 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-4-8-52.

TRI-VALLEY

Deeter 8-3-5-21, Smith 6-6-7-20, Yoder 3-4-8-10, Umbenhauer 0-2-4-2, Troutman 0-2-4-2, Kroh 0-0-0-0, Miller 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-17-28-55.

Marian 18 15 12 7 - 52

Tri-Valley 7 12 15 21 - 55

Three-pointers: Marian - Currie 5, Valente 2; Tri-Valley - Deeter 2, Smith 2.