Winona Lake, Ind. – Marian men's basketball dropped its semifinals matchup in the Crossroads League Tournament 96-90 to Grace as the Knights fell short in the overtime comeback on Saturday afternoon. Marian is now 21-9 with the loss.
The early minutes of the game were back and forth as the two team traded baskets, with the score tied at 10-10 at the 14:44 mark. Luke Gohmann and Hayden Langkabel knocked down a pair of three-pointer to take the 16-12 lead before Grace responded with one of their own to get within one. The Lancers took the lead but Taeshon Cherry came back firing with the triple to even it up at 18-18 with 11:56 to go.
Marian continued to stay with the No. 4 Lancers with the score deadlocked at 36-36 with 3:08 left in the first half. Back-to-back scores gave Grace the 40-37 lead, but the Knights countered with five unanswered point to go into the break with 41-40 advantage.
A dunk by Elijah Malone fueled Grace to start the second half on an 8-2 spurt to garner the 48-43 lead at the 17:41 mark. Marian managed to pull ahead 51-50 after three points from Josh Bryan. However, a jumper from the Lancers put them back on top.
With 8:15 left in the second half, Grace saw the 12 point lead at 67-57 behind a 12-0 run that was capped off by a Frankie Davidson three-pointer and Malone jumper. The Knights weren't rattled as they battled back to cut the deficit 76-75 with 2:40 left after a Brody Whitaker three. The Lancer responded with to go ahead by three with 1:25 left, but the Knights got two big buckets from Cherry and a layup from Christian Harvey with 4.7 ticks remaining to send the game to overtime at 81-81.
Grace got started first before a three by Whitaker at the 3:15 mark tied the score at 86-86. However, a 9-2 run put together by the Lancers gave them their largest lead during the extra time at 95-88 with 25 seconds left. Harvey hit a jumper to end the run, but the time was not in Marian's favor as their comeback fell short to Grace, dropping 96-90.
Marian was led behind Gohmann's 23 point performance, while pulling down five rebounds. Harvey and Cherry each added 19 points, with Harvey dishing out four assists and corralling six rebounds, while Cherry had a team-high eight rebounds. Whitaker rounded out the double digit scoring for the Knights with 12.
The Knights season is not over as Marian awaits a potential bid into the NAIA National Tournament. The NAIA will unveil the full 64-team field on Thursday, with the show taking place on March 2 at 8 p.m.
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