INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's basketball team suffered their third loss of the Crossroads League season on Wednesday night, as the Knights fell to Taylor University 91-83 in overtime after overcoming a double-digit deficit late in the second half. Marian is 5-4 overall on the season and 0-3 to start league play.

Jackson Ames scored the first points of Wednesday's contest to put Marian on the board first, but an efficient Taylor team responded throughout the first seven minutes of the game, out-pacing the Knights 14-4. The Trojan stretch carried through the first media timeout of the game, as their defense helped spark a 6-0 run that held the the Knights scoreless for three minutes. Noah Lovan snapped the skid as Marian returned the favor with intense defense, as the freshman and Dylan Moles ignited a 9-0 run that brought the team within a point. 

Taylor remained in the lead as the clocked ticked under 10 minutes of play, but Marian maintained a one-possession game for a large portion of the first half after their 9-0 run. With 7:42 to play before the intermission, a driving layup from Hayden Nahra tied the game at 20, bringing Marian to the doorstep of the Trojan hold on the game. Moles gave Marian a 28-27 lead with 4:53 to play in the half, and after a pair of Taylor scores at the foul line, the Knights would go on to out-score their opposition 9-6 over the final 3:40 of the period, taking a one-point lead into the locker room. Marian's lead looked to be four points going into the break as Moles drained a shot from the volleyball line as the first half expired, but upon review the ball was still in his hand as the clock hit zero, leaving Marian with their 37-36 lead.

Gavin Foe made up for the lost three points just 10 seconds into the second half as he drained an open three to push Marian's lead to four, and a contested layup from Moles moments later gave the Knights a 42-36 lead. Taylor gradually responded, taking the lead on a Nate Paarlberg three with 15:16 to play. Paarlberg's three was one of four made by Taylor in a two minute window, as the Trojans were able to go back on top by 10 points at a 57-47 clip. 

The Trojans continued to lead by 10 points as the clock wound deeper into the second half, but Marian continued to fight, finding a spark from Aidan Franks and Reis Butcher, as the pair of guards ripped a 6-0 run with a pair of quick three-pointers. Hayden Nahra continued a strong night with baskets in the paint, while another three from Butcher brought Marian within two. The Knights kept the game a two-possession contest over the final 9:19, and chipped the lead to a pair of points with 5:25 to play. With time running out, Marian was able to make the deficit one with 1:14 to play, as Noah Lovan sank a pair of shots at the foul line. 

With 30 seconds to play in regulation, Taylor remained in front by one point and held a seven-second difference between the expiration of their shot clock and the game clock. Anton Webb attempted to push Taylor's lead to three with a driving layup as the shot clock reached it's expiration, but was denied at the rim by Jackson Ames, who followed the ball down the court and was fouled on a putback layup after a layup attempt by Aidan Franks. Ames split the pair of shots at the charity stripe, tying the game at 74-74.

Taylor would get a chance to win the game but missed a deep three-point shot, sending the game to overtime. The Trojans struck first in the extra session, but saw their score quickly matched by Noah Lovan. Taylor would go back in front on their next possession with a Jackson Ullom three, as the trey sparked an 8-1 run that gave Taylor a seven-point edge. Butcher would score a layup with 1:24 to play to make it a five-point game, but forced to foul, Marian was unable to keep up with the Taylor free throws, eventually falling in the extra session 91-83.

Aidan Franks led Marian's scoring efforts in the loss, putting in 15 points while knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Moles finished the game with 14 points, and Nahra scored 13 points while leading the team in rebounds with eight. Nahra also had five assists. Lovan scored 13 points and had a team-best eight assists and two steals, and Ehladj Diallo scored 10 off the bench.

Marian ended the game shooting 45 percent from the floor while limiting Taylor to 46 percent, but were out-down in the game at the foul line and from beyond the arc, as Taylor held an edge in both shooting categories.

Marian will aim to claim their first road win of the Crossroads League season on Saturday, as they travel to Goshen to take on the Maple Leafs at 3:00 p.m.

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