INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's basketball team gave No. 14 Grace College their best effort on Saturday, but despite leading for over half the game the Knights yielded a late 17-2 run which allowed Grace to escape with an 83-76 victory. Marian's home loss drops the team's record to 9-11 on the season and 3-7 in Crossroads League action.

Noah Lovan paced a strong start for Marian, as four of his first half 21 points came in an opening 6-2 spree for the Knights. Marian gained the lead on Lovan's second make of the game, and ran strong in front, as five points from Aidan Franks before the first media stoppage of the day pushed the team to an 11-6 advantage. A fast break dunk by Reis Butcher kept Marian's foot on the pedal, with the team expanding their lead to three possessions over much of the next five minutes of play. Franks gave Marian a 19-11 lead with a wing jumpshot at the 10:28 mark, but the shot that gave the Knights their largest lead of the day was not enough to hold the multiple-possession edge.

Marian held their eight-point lead at the under-10 minute media timeout, but after the break a pair of turnovers helped Grace College go on a 5-0 run to get back within three. Lovan stopped the bleeding with a contested layup, allowing Marian to regain their footing as the freshman added three more from downtown to help gain a 27-20 hold on the game. The Lancers would answer the freshman with a 6-0 run to inch back within a point, however Marian stayed in the lead thanks to a Jackson Ames layup with 4:04 to play in the half. 

Grace would inch within a point of Marian's lead four times over the final 3:46 of the first half, answering Marian scores with trips to the foul line and three layups. Lovan pushed Marian's lead back to three in the waning seconds of the half as he reached 21 points, but the lead for the Knights would drop to a point at the break following Brycen Graber's putback score, making the contest a 38-37 game.

The Lancers' surge in the final 10 minutes of the first half carried their momentum to the second, as Carter Stoltzfus ended their 18-plus minute drought without the lead as he connected from deep nine seconds into the second half. Marian received an answer immediately from Gavin Foe, igniting a spree of scoring on both ends of the court. Foe's second made shot of the half tied the game at 44, and sparked a 5-0 run that pushed Marian to a 47-44 lead after an Aidan Franks three-pointer. Franks' deep shot kept Marian on the positive side of the lead for the next seven minutes, as his team saw the momentum of the game drift to their end of the floor.

A three-point play from Reis Butcher with 10:46 to play gave Marian a 59-55 lead, while on the next possession a Josiah Gustin two-hand slam electrified the crowd as the game dipped under 10 minutes to play. The Knights would continue to lead after the under-10 minute timeout, as Lovan and Foe pushed their team's lead to six points with 6:18 to play. Leading 67-61, Marian suffered a defensive lapse that saw Justin Degraaf convert a three-point play, starting what would be the closing run for the Lancers.

Degraaf's make made the score 67-64 in favor of Marian with 5:53 to go, but the Knights would go cold after the three-point play, going 1-4 from the field while committing four turnovers over the ensuing four minutes. Grace capitalized on the Marian shortcomings, tying the game with a Degraaf three, then taking the lead for good with free throws from Michigan native and Brycen Graber. Butcher would knock down a jumper for the home team with 3:37 to play to attempt to break up the run, but Grace's offense continued to convert in the closing minutes, expanding their lead to nine in the final minutes. 

A turnover from the young Knights' team with 1:35 would seal the game, as Marian would only come within seven points of their opposition in the final 95 seconds, trailing by as many as 11 as they eventually fell 83-76.

In the loss, Noah Lovan scored a career-high, dropping 32 points on an 11-19 shooting performance. The freshman added six rebounds and a team-high four assists in the game, and made eight of 10 shots from the foul line. Aidan Franks scored 16 points in the loss, and Gavin Foe had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds before fouling out of the game. Butcher also scored 10 points in the loss, and in his first game as an active member of the roster, Dominic Bonner led the bench in scoring with three points in five minutes of work. 

Marian will go on the road for their next two games, opening the two-game trip at Spring Arbor on Wednesday, January 29. Tip is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Michigan.

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