Rochester Hills, Mich. - The Marian men's basketball team suffered their first defeat of the 2024-25 season on Friday night, falling in overtime against Rochester Christian by a count of 81-80. The loss to the Warriors pushes the Knights' record to 3-1 on the season.

Rochester Christian opened the game with control of the lead, scoring four unanswered to open the game before pushing their lead to six by the five minute mark. Dylan Moles carried the offensive load for Marian in the first half, dropping three of his 13 in the period to answer a Rochester jumper going into the under-15 timeout. The Warriors would lead by as many as eight before the Knights clawed back, going on an 8-0 run with open three's from Moles and Aidan Franks tying the score at 15-15. 

The rest of the first half would feature back and forth basketball, with each team answering the other over the final 12 minutes of the period. Josiah Gustin gave Marian their first lead of the game with 9:09 to play in the half, but the Warriors would responded with a 5-0 run to go back on top, leading 25-22. With 4:16 to play in the half, Gus Etchison got his first shot of the half to fall, making a layup after an Elhadj Diallo steal to give Marian a 27-25 edge. Rochester would answer by scoring eight unanswered points after the Etchison make, but would see their lead shrink to three by the break as Moles and Noah Lovan helped shrink the gap to a 35-32 margin at the half.

In the second half Marian punched back at Rochester, trimming a six-point deficit down to one with 14:31 to play, as Aidan Franks and Gavin Foe pushed the Knights offense. Defense took over after a timeout was called at the 14:19 mark, as the game went scoreless for just under three minutes. Dylan Moles took the lid off the rim with a second-chance score, while growing a three-point lead on their next offensive possession as Franks drove to the hole on a fastbreak layup. 

Rochester would gradually reclaim the lead as Marian's offense fell into a lull after gaining a 47-45 lead, but the Knights roared back behind Gus Etchison, who picked up his scoring output with a pair of driving layups. Franks gave Marian a 53-51 lead with 7:57 to play in the half, and Marian maintained their fight in the game as Ehladj Diallo drained a pair of shots from outside to match the Warriors offense. 

The game would remain a one-possession contest entering the final minute, until Rochester Christian bucked the trend with a jumper that gave the home side a 69-65 lead. With 40 seconds to play, Marian was able to get back within one score as Noah Lovan drove to the rim with a layup. while with seven seconds to play Gus Etchison calmly sank a pair of free throws to tie the contest. The Warriors had a look at a game-winning shot, but saw their layup attempt miss off the backboard, sending the game to overtime tied 69-69.

Marian took the first punch in overtime as Diallo and Gustin scored the first five points for the Knights, giving them a 74-69 lead with three minutes to play in the period. The Warriors would answer with four unanswered, and would tie the game with 1:34 to play after getting a pair of Brett White free throws at 75-75. White would score again and helped the Warriors on a 4-0 run, as the home team led 79-75 with 50.7 seconds to play. Marian would call timeout and setup a play for Gus Etchison, who buried a three to get within one. As a the Warriors were aiming to melt the clock, the Knights forced a turnover and got a quick steal and layup from Franks to take an 80-79 lead, but were unable to defend the final Rochester shot. Gunner Walters sunk a shot from the left elbow to put Rochester in front 81-80, and with two seconds left Marian had a chance for the win, but Etchison's jumper in the paint missed, ending the game in defeat for the Knights.

After scoring two points in the first half, Etchison finished the night as the team's leading scorer with 20 points and two blocked shots. Moles finished the game with 15 points, and Franks scored 14 points. Gustin, Franks, and Foe each had six rebounds in the loss, and Diallo led the Marian bench with 11 points. 

Marian will end their weekend in Michigan on Saturday afternoon, taking on Michigan-Dearborn at 3:30 p.m.

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