INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian basketball team dropped their second consecutive game on Thursday night in the PE Center, as IU-Columbus upset the Knights with an 83-77 victory. The Knights fall to 6-6 on the year after the loss.

After a quick score for both IU-Columbus and Marian on their opening possessions, the Knights fell into a drought from the field, as the Crimson Pride began to grow a lead. IU-Columbus jumped in front 10-4 through the first five minutes of play, and expanded their advantage to nine over the next two minutes as Ben Sylva and Owen Law heated up from the field.
 
The Knights would find themselves trailing by as many as 14 points as the clock rolled under 12 minutes to play in the opening half. Slowly, Marian brought themselves back into the game, with buckets from Elhadj Diallo and Dylan Moles cutting the deficit to eight. IU-Columbus would lead for the remainder of the half, but with 5:36 to play the Knights found a spark from a Hayden Nahra second chance basket.
 
Nahra's basket ignited a 14-4 run over the final five minutes, as timely stops and scores from Noah Lovan and Moles helped cut the deficit to four. Two free throws from Lovan in the final 20 seconds brought the score to a 35-31 mark, which stood entering the break as the Knights trailed by four.

IU-Columbus scored four quick points to start the second half, increasing their lead to eight and further putting the Knights out of reach. Marian held the difference on the board to three scores, and fought all the way back within one point, as Diallo caught fire with a series of baskets. A jumper from Hayden Nahra off a Reis Butcher pass made the score 46-45 in favor of the visitors with 13:42 to play in the game, but it was not enough to get Marian over the hump, as the Crimson Pride pushed their lead back to six points over the next two minutes. 

Marian continued to fight and try to take their first lead of the night, as a pair of three's from Diallo kept them in striking distance as the clock ticked past the midway point of the second period. Despite their best efforts, IU-Columbus found scores at the right time to quiet Marian's runs, as they extended their lead back to 12 points, leading 71-59 with 4:49 to play in the game. After the final media timeout Marian made their final push to get back into the game, getting back-to-back three's from Dylan Moles and Ehladj Diallo to cut the score to six, while a free throw from Josiah Gustin with 2:33 remaining made it a five-point game. 

The 7-0 run would be answered by Columbus' Owen Law who scored a driving layup, and after a missed putback opportunity, the Pride scored on two possessions in a row to regain a double-figure lead with less than 90 seconds to play, sealing the game. Lovan and Moles would score down the stretch as they kept fighting, but with the deficit too great, Marian would fall 83-77. 

The Knights never led on Thursday night, and shot 40 percent from the field for the game, a 12-percent increase from their first half in which they made just 28 percent of their shots. Diallo ended the game as Marian's leading scorer, scoring a career-high 23 points off the bench. Lovan finished the game with 18 points, and Moles scored 13. Hayden Nahra finished two rebounds shy of a double-double scoring 10 while collecting eight boards. Lovan also had eight rebounds, and led the team in steals with three. 

Marian will turn around and go on the road this Saturday, traveling to Saint Mary of the Woods to take on the Pomeroys at 1:00 p.m. 

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