INDIANAPOLIS - Despite a strong first half effort that put Marian in front 39-35 going into the break, Marian was unable to stop the combination of Lane Sparks and Zach Goodline, as Huntington took down the Knights 87-79 Saturday afternoon. The Knights' second straight loss drops them to 8-7 in Crossroads League action, and 18-7 overall.
Josh Bryan and Gavin Foe helped the Knights jump out to a lightning fast start, knocking down three pointers on two of the first three possessions to jump in front 6-2 on the Foresters. After a one minute drought Marian got back in a groove, with a Bryan steal and score pairing with a Christian Harvey layup to take a 10-4 lead. Harvey was whistled for a techincal following his score, which allowed Huntington to get their first rhythm after the media timeout.
The Foresters surged ahead 11-10, igniting a series of back and forth basketball with each team answering the other. Marian would push in front by four with Jackson Ames and Luke Heady getting on the board, however constat scoring from Zach Goodline and Lane Sparks kept Huntington in play, as they recaptured the lead multiple times before standing on top 23-19 with 9:12 to play in the opening half. The Knights got six consecutive points from Harvey as he willed the game back to a tie, and with 5:26 to go in the half Hayden Langkabel sunk a three to push in front 30-27. The trey allowed the Knights to hold a lead or stay on the right side of a tied game, as a closing 6-2 run featuring a slam from Ames gave the home team a 39-35 lead at the break.
Harvey kept his rhythm going after the intermission with a second chance strike on the first possession, but things went immediately in Huntington's favor as back to back misses helped aid a 6-0 Forester run. With the game tied up, a quick timeout was called by the Knights bench to regroup the team and stall the run. Foe quieted the surge with a quick score, and the lead ballooned to six with three different players adding to their totals.
The final score in the surge from Langkabel gave Marian a 51-45 lead, however the tandem of Goodline and Sparks attacked again, whittling the lead to one before eventually pushing in front 58-52. Huntington's second half spurts were fueled by multiple droughts, as Marian was held scoreless for stretches of 2:37 and 4:36. The second drought came after a made three by Heady that had tied the game at 58 each, and in the stretch multiple turnovers aided Huntington's 14-point lead.
Marian would break their skid with a score from Harvey, and were able to get within eight points on three separate occasions in the final five minutes, but the comeback was not great enough as Huntington stole the 87-79 win from Marian.
The Knights shot 49 percent from the field in the loss, committing 14 turnovers in the defeat. Huntington held a 29-15 advantage in free throw attempts as they earned their way to the line, scoring 13 points from the freebies. Harvey led Marian with a 22-point game, while Brody Whitaker scored 14 off the bench. Bryan finished with 11, and Luke Gohmann grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Marian will aim to snap their losing streak when they welcome Spring Arbor on Wednesday night. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the PE Center.
MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.
