Williamsburg, Ky. - The Marian men's basketball team saw their 2023-24 season come to an end on Friday night, as the Knights lost to Florida College in the NAIA National Tournament First Round 84-71. Marian's loss ends the season with a 23-8 overall record.

Marian came out of the gate flat Friday night, falling behind 10-3 in the first five minutes of the game. Marian finally started to knock down shots after using their first timeout of the night, with Maximus Gizzi getting the team out of a slump, but a 5-0 run saw the Knights fall behind by 11. Trailing 17-6, Marian used their second timeout of the game, and slowly started to make up for their rough start, as Gavin Foe and Gus Etchison brought the game back within single digits.The run continued as Jackson Ames and Brody Whitaker scored, as the Knights used a 9-0 to get within two.

Trailing 20-15 with 7:53 to play in the half, Ben Henderson stirred up the offense with a three, while back to back three point makes from Brody Whitaker gave Marian their first lead of the night as the half neared six minutes. The junior Whitaker continued to knock down open shots from deep, pushing Marian ahead 27-24 at the under-five minute media timeout. 

Josh Bryan gave Marian an extended lead after the timeout as the senior knocked down an open three, but the six-point swing was not sustainable as the Falcons soared back to tie the game at 30. Marian led by as many as five in the final four minutes of the half, but were unable to pull away as a run for Florida College tightened the score, with the halftime break showing a 39-39 tie.

Both teams traded 4-0 runs to start the second half, with Marian extending theirs to seven as a three from Gizzi gave the Knights a 46-43 edge. The lead would go right back to the Falcons as Florida College's Deonte Martinez went on a personal 4-0 run, helping the home team in the game build a two-possession lead. Marian would go back in front as the lead changed hands coming out of the first media timeout, but the Knights were unable to make it stick as the Falcons grasped a 59-53 advantage.

Marian was able to get within two points with 9:23 remaining in the game, and eventually tied the score with 7:47 to play, but were unable to firmly take control, as the Falcons regained a six-point lead. After failing to get timely stops to get closer on the board, Marian saw their deficit grow to double-digits, as an 8-0 turned a 69-65 game into a 77-65 contest with two minutes to play. Forced to foul over the final two minutes, Marian was unable to get the production on offense to overcome their margin on the board, as Marian would go on to lose 84-71.

The Knights shot 34 percent from the field in their final game of the season, making just 25 of 72 shots from the floor. Whitaker scored a game-high 25 points in the loss, and Gus Etchison poured in 16. Gizzi finished with 12 points, adding four assists and rebounds.

Brody Whitaker would score his 1000th career point in the loss against Florida College, while Gus Etchison passed Wes Stowers for the third most points in single season history. Whitaker is Marian's 40th player in program history to reach 1000 career points, and ends the year with 1007 career points, ranked 36th all-time. Etchison finished the season with 662 points to take the third-best single season scoring mark at Marian.

Marian reached the NAIA Tournament for a seventh consecutive season in 2023-24, ending with a 23-8 record and a fourth place finish in the Crossroads League.

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