Miners score 26 straight to hand Marian setback
RON GOWER/TIMES NEWS Marian Catholic's Ryan Karnish (12) drives past Zach Dixon of Minersville. Karnish was the high scorer for the Colts with 10 points, including two three-point baskets.
According to Marian head coach John Patton, the conclusion of last night's game against Minersville was like a bad movie…tough to sit through, difficult to watch, and something you never want to see again.
With the Colts clinging to a 35-28 lead with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter, Minersville scored the final 26 points of the game for a 54-35 Schuykill League victory.
The loss is the first league loss for Marian in over two years, as the Colts (8-3) have now dropped two straight after starting the year 8-1.
"I really don't even know how to explain what happened tonight other than the fact that we just got beat," said Patton. "We scored the first seven points of the second half and then things just fell apart."
"Everything we tried to do went bad and we just couldn't get ourselves out of it," added Patton. "We couldn't get a shot to drop and every ball seemed to bounce the wrong way for us."
After falling behind 18-11 at the end of the first quarter, the Colts clawed their way back into the contest as Ryan Karnish came off the bench to score 10 of Marian's 17 second quarter points to force a 28-28 tie at the half.
Minersville turned the ball over on four of its first five second half possessions, as the Colts capitalized by going on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. Chris Barletta chipped in three points and Dominick Richards tallied two buckets in the paint, the last of which came at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter.
Marian didn't see another point the rest of the game.
The Battlin' Miners scored the final six points of the third stanza and outscored the Colts 20-0 in the fourth. It was a scoreless drought that encompassed the final 11:58 of the game, as Marian missed its final 15 shots from the field and was 0-for-4 from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, Minersville shot "lights-out" in the final frame, as the Battlin' Miners made their first six shots of the quarter and converted on eight of 11 attempts from the floor.
"A loss is a loss," stated Patton. "You'll have those days when nothing goes right and tonight was certainly one of them."
Ryan Karnish led Marian with 10 points (all coming in the second quarter) and Ryan Gimbi pulled down 11 rebounds.
For Minersville (8-3), Dave King led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Cole Weachock accounted for 13 points.
MINERSVILLE
Murphy 1-0-0-2, Weachock 6-1-1-13, Melochick 2-2-3-7, Kopinetz 3-2-3-8, Dixon 1-0-0-2, King 7-1-1-16, Haney 2-0-2-6, Polinsky 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-6-10-54.
MARIAN
Keer 1-0-2-3, Stawick 0-0-0-0, Barletta 3-1-5-8, Karnish 4-0-0-10, Pilla 0-0-0-0, Ryba 0-0-0-0, Martin 0-0-0-0, Julian 0-0-0-0, Gimbi 2-1-2-5, Baker 1-0-0-2, Nesgoda 0-0-0-0, Dom. Richards 2-3-4-7, Agosti 0-0-0-0, Motil 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-5-13-35.
Minersville 18 10 6 20 - 54
Marian 11 17 7 0 - 35
Three-Pointers: Minersville - Haney 2, Melochick 1, King 1; Marian - Karnish 2, Keer 1, Barletta 1.
