INDIANAPOLIS - Trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half, the Marian men's basketball team made a desparate comeback late in the game, but came up empty on their closing offensive possessions as the Knights were unable to pull the upset over No. 7 Grace in an 80-70 defeat. Marian's loss drops them to 17-5 overall and 7-5 in league play.
The Knights opened the game on a tear, feeding off the energy from the student section as they answered a Grace make with an 11-0 run. Luke Gohmann played a key role in the hot start scoring the first five points for Marian, while Josh Bryan and Hayden Langkabel followed with three's of their own. The 11-2 run forced an early timeout for Grace, and settled the Lancers into play as they were able to find an offensive identity after the media timeout.
Marian pressed Grace with Taeshon Cherry scores, while the first double-digit was captured at the 11:54 mark on a Christian Harvey trey. The two sides went shot for shot on their next three scoring plays, as Marian was able to hold their 10-point lead. With 8:33 remaining Grace began to build momentum as Frankie Davidson scored four unanswered points, with Ian Scott slashing the Knights' lead down to four. A dunk from Scott continued the run, with a 6-0 spurt bringing the game level at 30-30. A pair of three-point swings allowed the Lancers to keep with Marian after tying the score, but with 2:03 remaining the Lancers took their first lead since 2-0 on a Jakob Gibbs three.
Grace would score the final six points of the first half to go into the break with a 42-38 lead, and in the second half came out dialed in connecting on each of their first three shots. Cherry helped the Knights cut into their eight-point deficit with a pair of quick scores to get within three, but a pair of Lancer scores increased the visiting lead to seven. After the media timeout, Marian went cold missing six straight shots and a pair of free throws, while Grace added four points to gain a double-digit lead with 12:41 remaining.
Maximus Gizzi broke up the run with a pair of makes, but a sluggish offensive approach allowed Grace to use a 9-0 and increase their lead to 18 points. Luke Heady stopped the run with a made three to show 67-52 on the scoreboard, however it was not enough to completely stop Grace as they would increase their lead to 20 points by scoring five unanswered. Trailing 72-52 with 7:00 to play, Marian slowly started to mount a comeback as Bryan drained consecutive three pointers.
Brayn's pair of three's brought late energy to the crowd, as Marian began to feed off the momentum with Cherry scoring seven points in a 10-0 run to get within four. Trailing 74-70 with 1:34 to play and possession, Cherry forced a contested shot to try and beat the shot clock, however missed wide off the glass. Grace would answer with an Ian Scott three-pointer, sealing the game as the Lancers would force two Marian misses and two turnovers in the final minute to take an 80-70 victory.
Marian shot 36 percent from the field in their third consecutive loss to Grace, while shooting a poor 4-of-10 at the free throw line. Despite being out-rebounded, Marian held control of the ball, committing just five turnovers while forcing 16 against Grace. Cherry led the Knights with 18 points, with Bryan scoring 12 and Langkabel finishing with 10. Gohmann led Marian in rebounding with 10, while Harvey turned in a game-best eight assists.
Marian will look to finish the week strong and rebound into the win column as they travel to Goshen College on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip.
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