Bloomington, Ind. - The Marian men's basketball team put up a fight Friday night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, battling the Indiana Hoosiers in an early-season exhibition contest. The Knights battled the Hoosiers and trailed by 14 at halftime as they competed against their NCAA DI counterparts, but an early second half run put Indiana in control as Marian fell 94-61.

Indiana went right at the Marian defense on the opening possession of the game and scored on an Xaiver Johnson jumper to take the first points of the game, but Marian would put the clamps on preventing any points for a two-minute stretch. The Knights would take a lead on the Hoosiers at the 18:16 mark of the half on a Gus Etchison three, and held their lead for 0:46 seconds before the next IU point. Indiana would use a 12-0 run to take control on the half, but the Knights would continue to pester as Brody Whitaker and Dylan Moles buried open three point shots.

Marian trailed by nine at the second media timeout of the first half, and continued to hang within four possessions of the Hoosiers as Etchison and Ben Henderson continued to score from outside. The Knights opened the first 13 minutes of the game shooting a blistering hot 58 percent from the three, and Etchison's third make of the game brought Marian within 10 points. Maximus Gizzi converted on a three-point play on the backend of the under-eight media timeout, cutting within nine points as they trailed 33-24. 

The Hoosiers would out-score Marian 16-11 after the old-school three from Gizzi, as Malik Reneau and Trey Galloway helped Indiana build a 49-35 lead at the intermission. Etchison finished the first half with nine points, while Henderson scored nine and Brody Whitaker scored eight. 

After halftime Indiana came out and blitzed the Knights, pushing their lead to 24 points with a quick 9-0 run. Whitaker scored four unanswered to halt the run, but the Hoosiers continued to score as Mackenzie Mgbako and Johnson pushed the home lead to 27 points.

The lead would move to 30 points for Indiana with 9:48 remaining in the game, but Marian continued to fight for the remainder of the game despite the large deficit. Scores from Dylan Moles, Nolan Foster, and Whitaker kept increasing the Marian total, as the Knights put up 18 of their 26 second-half points over the final 10 minutes of the game. 

Indiana would lead by as many as 36 points on the night, but Marian was able to trim the final margin to 33 points as Foster made a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the game, ending the contest in the 94-61 final.

Whitaker led all Marian players with his second double-figure scoring game of the season, as the junior put up a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. Henderson finished with 12 points, and Etchison finished with 11 points. Moles and Josh Bryan each finished with five points each. Whitaker would also lead the Knights in assists with four, and Jackson Ames had two of the team's three blocks.

As a team Marian shot 30 percent from behind the arc, and 32 percent from the floor, losing the rebound battle to Indiana 36-34. 
Marian will return to regular season action on Tuesday night, as they host Wilberforce in the PE Center. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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