BELLAIRE — While the temperature was near zero outside, John Marshall heated up the House of Champions in the second half en route to a 70-52 win over Bellaire Friday night.

The two teams were deadlocked at 31-aside at intermission. The Monarchs, however, ramped up the pressure in the third quarter to seize control.

John Marshall’s full court pressure yielded six Big Reds’ turnovers in the third frame, enabling the visitors to build a 56-45 cushion entering the final quarter. The Big Reds never mounted a major threat in the final eight minutes.

“It’s been like that all year long,” John Marshall head coach Mike Thomas said. “We always start out sluggishly in the first half. But I was real pleased on how we came out after intermission.

“We can go nine or 10 deep. So, we felt our pressure could wear on them, and it did,” added the second-year Monarch boss. “We got nice contributions from a lot of players tonight.”

The win boosted John Marshall to 6-8 on the campaign. The Monarchs return to action Tuesday, hosting rival Wheeling Park, seeking to avenge an earlier loss at The Palace on The Hill.

Bellaire, meanwhile, dropped to 1-17. The Big Reds, however, have played the entire season minus the services of two key pieces, both sidelined with football injuries.

“It was your basic tale of two halves,” veteran Bellaire coach J.R. Battista said. “We played well and made some shots in the first half. We did what we needed to do.

“In the third quarter we turned it over too much and let them get up on us and grab the momentum,” he added. “After that, it just snowballed.”

John Marshall displayed fine offensive balance.

Senior Jackson Helms and junior Landen Snyder each checked in with 20 markers. Helms delivered 12 points in the decisive third quarter.

Senior Bryar Cork netted 12 points while sophomore Preston Watkins chipped in with nine tallies for the winners.

Bellaire was topped by the sharpshooting of Brae Schmidli. The sweet-shooting junior tossed in 18 points, courtesy of six treys. Classmate Michael Dippel was next with 14 tallies.

All told, the Big Reds drained 10 treys in the contest.

John Marshall owned a slim 14-12 advantage after the opening quarter. Helms and Schmidli each netted six points in the period.

Bellaire used six more Schmidli points and five from Jace Violet in the second stanza to draw even at 31-31 at intermission. Snyder came up big for the Monarchs in the quarter, producing 10 points.

“We are still a work in progress,” Thomas said. “We have been slowed by injuries and sickness. Tonight is only the second game we have played with our full roster.”

John Marshall committed just six turnovers on the night. Bellaire, meanwhile, was guilty of 14 miscues.

Bellaire is set to host Steubenville Catholic Central Friday.