WEIRTON — The Weir boys basketball got the job done on the defensive end against North Marion. Unfortunately, the Red Riders had an off night offensively against the Huskies as North Marion rallied for a 45-36 victory Tuesday night on Ron “Fritz” Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.

“North Marion is a really good team,” Weir (5-15) head coach Anthony Santangelo said. “Steve (Harbert) does a good job. They are always tough. He always has good players.

“We came out ready to go. We were just very sloppy on offense.”

The visitors from Marion County led by six points at halftime, however, the boys from Hancock County got off to a good start in the third as the Red Riders rallied to take a 28-25 lead. Unfortunately, the Huskies were able to respond as they ripped off a 6-0 run to retake the lead and North Marion held on from that point.

“I was shocked they played man the whole game,” Santangelo said. “They stopped us. We did not have good spacing on offense. They played man the whole game. We just could not hit shots. We couldn’t get anything out of our offense. They didn’t do anything crazy. We just beat ourselves tonight.”

The visitors led 31-28 entering the fourth, and they outscored the hosts, 14-8, in the final quarter to hold on for the win.

“We did really well defensively,” Santangelo said. “We got a lot of good stops. They scored 45 points, and they hit some foul shots at the end.

“We did a good job coming out in the third quarter. We got two or three turnovers. We were able to get some layups. We had some good steals.

“Then, we started trading baskets, and we couldn’t make shots. In third, we took a 28-25 lead, and then they responded and took a 31-28 lead. We couldn’t even it up after that.”

The Huskies (8-9) led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter and 23-17 at halftime.

Justin Kaczmarek netted a game-high 13 points to lead the way offensively for the Red Riders, while Damir Mowder delivered nine.

Connor Balwanz contributed a team-high 11 points to lead the way offensively for the Huskies, while Cole Morris collected 10.

The victory enabled North Marion to sweep the season series from Weir. The Huskies defeated the Red Riders, 62-41, Feb. 8 at home.

North Marion is scheduled to play Grafton Thursday night at home.

Weir is slated to take on city-rival Madonna in the annual City Championship Game Friday night at home. The varsity only game is set to start at 7 p.m. It will also be Senior Night for the Red Riders.

“We have a big game against Madonna,” Santangelo said. “It is the City Championship Game. We are going to have to be locked in. We are going to start getting prepared for them tomorrow.”

The Red Riders defeated the Blue Dons, 85-50, in the two team’s first meeting this season Jan. 15 inside the Dube Dome.

“We’re looking to play well again,” Santangelo said. “We are going to have to rebound from this game. The kids have been locked in the last week or two.

“We are just trying to get better. After the Madonna game, we have another regional game against Brooke at their place. We want to get better. That is what we are focused on.”

The City Championship game for the girls was scheduled to be held at 6 p.m. Friday as part of a girls’ and boys’ doubleheader, however, that game has been moved to 7 p.m. Monday at Weir. The game will be varsity only, and it will be Senior Night for the Weir girls.

North Marion 45, Weir 36

North Marion 9 14 8 14 – 45

Weir 6 11 11 8 – 36

NORTH MARION (8-9): Kucish 3 1-1 7, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Balwanz 4 1-2 11, Harbert 1 5-6 8, Hayes 2 0-0 4, Parson 0 1-2 1, Batson 1 0-0 2, Morris 4 1-2 10. TOTALS: 16 9-13 45.

WEIR (5-15): J. Kaczmarek 4 3-3 13, Mowder 4 1-4 9, Stevenson 0 2-2 2, Glyptis 1 0-0 3, Jeffers 3 0-0 6, Grays 1 1-1 3. TOTALS: 13 7-10 36.

3-POINTERS: North Marion 4 (Balwanz 2, Harbert, Morris); Weir 3 (Kaczmarek 2, Glyptis)