INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's basketball team had a chance to force overtime Wednesday night, but came up short as their three-game home winning-streak was snapped by St. Francis. The 73-71 home loss drops Marian to a 14-4 overall record, while dropping to 4-4 in Crossroads League play.
The Franciscan foes used the first six minutes of the game to set the tone, as play was continuous throughout thet early 8-7 St. Francis surge. Taeshon Cherry scored five of the Knights first seven points before the game hit its first break at the media timeout, but after the stoppage the Cougars pounced with Zane Burke scoring five in an 8-4 run. Hayden Langkabel and Brody Whitaker answered Burke by combining on a 5-0 run in a 60 second stretech.
Whitaker and Cherry took over the scoring duties for Marian as the clock rolled under seven minutes to play in the half, with the Cougars and Knights trading blows. Whitaker's fourth field goal of the half provided the home team with a 25-24 lead, and after St. Francis held Marian without a point for two minutes of play, Christian Harvey's three-pointer provided a 28-26 lead with 4:51 to play. Harvey's trifecta started a 9-0 run as Luke Gohmann and Cherry knocked one down from behind the arc, providing Marian with a 34-26 lead. The eight-point swing would stand as the Knights' largest lead of the game, with St. Francis whittling the score to three over the final four minutes, trailing Marian 38-35 at the half.
Langkabel started the second half with a bang for Marian as the senior buried a three on the team's second possession of the half, with Harvey getting to rim to push the lead to sevn. Burke answered the bucket from the Richmond native with a second-chance three-pointer, and ignited the Cougars as they took off on a 12-0 run. The three-minute shift in momentum saw Marian commit three turnovers while missing four field goals, as they fell behind 48-43. Cherry got Marian out of their funk with a pair of makes, while a three-point play from Whitaker leveled the score at 50 with 13:25 to play.
The scoring continued to go back and forth as Marian answered each of the punches thrown by their opponents. With 11:04 to play Marian got a spark from Cherry, as the California native scored on three consecutive possessions, while a Maximus Gizzi steal led to an open layup for Whitaker, who capitalized the 10-0 run which took 4:02 off the game clock. Ashton Johnson ended Marian's run and started one for the visitors, as the 65-57 lead evaporated over the ensuing two minutes. A dunk from Cherry halted the St. Francis run with 4:21 to play, but with 2:23 to go Branden Northern extinguished a two minute drought with a three.
St. Francis led 69-67 after the three from Northern, and were able to pad their lead at the foul line. Cherry and Harvey would get Marian within two in the final 28 seconds, and after Antwaan Cushingberry missed the front end of a one-and-one, Marian had a chance to tie trailing 73-71. With 4.7 seconds to play Marian was able to find Cherry, but the senior bobbled the entry pass, forcing a contested shot that missed wide and resulted in Marian dropping the home contest to St. Francis.
The tightly contested game ended with Marian shooting 48.3 percent from the floor, and 33 percent from downtown. Cherry was Marian's leading scorer with 26 points and six rebounds, while Whitaker finished with 16 points off the bench. Harvey scored 11 in the defeat, with Gohmann and Langkabel each scoring eight.
Marian will aim to get back in the win column as they close the week at Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday afternoon.
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