INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's basketball team took the win in the Crossroads League Tournament Quarterfinals, with a score of 91-82 over the Bethel Pilots. Marian is now 23-6 overall with the win, advancing to the semifinals.

The Knights got an early start in the matchup with Brody Whitaker two consecutive baskets in the first couple minutes of play. At the 15-minute mark the home team built an 11-point lead over the Pilots, as Maximus Gizzi drained a paint jumper to strengthen the lead. Nolan Foster and Josh Bryan helped to increase the gap against the Pilots with consecutive scores bringing the total on the board to 25-11 eight minutes into the game. Bryan had no signs of stopping hitting another 3-pointer to strengthen the lead for the Knights.

A little under a minute after the halfway mark of the first half Gus Etchison hit an easy three bringing the score 33-19 in favor of the Knights. Ben Henderson got his hand in the mix throwing a good 3-pointer bringing strengthening the lead for the Knights. The hot-shooting Knights continued to score at will, jumping in front by 21 as Etchison and Foster scored inside. Marian led by as many as 29 points in the first half, and ended the first 20 minutes of play holding a 59-36 lead over Bethel. 

After halftime Bethel found a new groove, forcing Marian to use an early timeout as the Pilots jumped out 7-2 to start the second period. Marian continued to hold a double-digit lead as the clock ticked to the 15-minute mark, but the Pilots continued to build momentum, as a three-point play by Preston Phillips going into the media timeout dropped the once-26-point lead to 10. The Knights answered the run with Whitaker earning his way to the free throw line, helping Marian reclaim their stake in the game, as the score lifted to 73-60 in favor of Marian with 11:17 to play.

Despite Marian holding their double figure advantage, Bethel would continue to pester, and broke through to make it a 10-point contest once again after Drew Lutz swished three free throws. The Pilots were able to get within two scores of Marian as the clock ticked toward nine minutes, they turned up their offense to cut the Knights' lead down to six points. The difference on the board was dropped to three points with 6:29 to play, as a Drew Lutz triple made it a one-possession game.

Marian turned back to Etchison after the lead shrunk to three, as the guard nailed a quick three to once again make it a six-point game. Etchison's basket sparked the Knights, as Gavin Foe and Gizzi made back-to-back three's to punctuate an 8-0 run, pushing Marian back on top by 12 points with 3:28 to play. The Knights protected their 88-76 lead over the final three minutes, holding on to survive the scare by claiming a 91-82 win.

Gus Etchison led the Knights in points with 20 and Maximus Gizzi was not far behind as he finished the game with 18. Jackson Ames lead the team in rebounds with six rebounds while Etchison added five. Brody Whitaker was also in double figures in the win, scoring 17 points to go with four rebounds before fouling out of the game. Josh Bryan and Nolan Foster led the bench in scoring with eight points each.

Marian advances to the CL Tournament Semifinals to play on the road against the Grace Lancers on Saturday afternoon, with tip off set at 1:00 p.m.

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