INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's basketball trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half against Spring Arbor on Saturday, and despite their comeback efforts, the Knights ended the game two points short in a 76-74 loss. Marian's loss is their second consecutive, as they drop to 4-3 on the season and 0-2 in Crossroads League play.

The Knights and Cougars traded blows in the first three minutes of the game as Noah Lovan got the offense rolling with five quick points, but after a second-made three from Travis Grayson, Marian would see themselves trailing for the remainder of the half. The three from Grayson ignited a 14-0 run that put Spring Arbor on top 19-7 with 13:54 to play in the half, putting Marian behind by double digits. 

The Knights would get instant offense off the bench from Aidan Franks as the redshirt-freshman and freshman Lovan chipped the deficit down to eight with 7:14 to play. Josiah Gustin and Dylan Moles would keep Marian within four possessions over the final four minutes of the first half, and with 48 seconds to play a second jumper by Moles made the score 39-29 entering the half. 

Spring Arbor turned up their offense after the second half began, knocking down nearly every shot as they came back from the locker room. A pair of technicals assessed to the Marian bench with 15:52 to play in the game allowed the Spring Arbor run to roll to 10 unanswered points, and with 13:27 to play in the game the Cougars established a 57-35 lead.

Marian turned on their rally hats after the Cougars Aden Zank buried a three, chipping away with Aidan Franks and Noah Lovan carrying the offense. Ehladj Diallo established a rhythm in the second half, and Lovan continued to fight as he led the offensive efforts. With under 10 minutes to play, Marian found themselves trailing by 21 points, but continued to fight as Lovan ignited a quick 6-0 run to cut the margin to 15.

Continuing to fight, Marian made their mark with 4:57 to play in the game, as Lovan knocked down a pair of free throws after the final media timeout. Lovan quickly got a steal on the inbounds pass, and found Josiah Gustin for a three-point play. The quick strike lifted the energy in the arena, as Marian went on a 10-0 run, forcing seven turnovers in the sprint to cut the lead to five. Spring Arbor would halt the Marian run with 2:15 to play as Kevyn Robertson sank a pair of free throws, pushing the Cougars back in front 69-62. Ehladj Diallo and Gustin scored five unanswered points after the free throws to make it a two point game with under a minute to play, forcing the Knights into a foul-stretch. 

Spring Arbor would make seven free throws in the final minute to hold their lead, but left the door open as Diallo and Lovan got Marian within a point with 9.1 seconds to play. Marian would have to foul twice before the game ended, and had a chance to get within one, but an intentionally missed free throw from Lovan allowed the ball to go back to Spring Arbor, who would eventually force a long full-court shot that fell short, ending the game in a 76-74 Marian defeat.

Lovan stepped up in his first collegiate start, scoring 30 points while grabbing six rebounds. Franks scored 13 off the bench, and Diallo finished with 12 points. Foe finished the night with five rebounds, and Braden Walters had a pair of steals.

Marian will return to action on Monday, December 2 as they travel to Judson University.

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