Spring Arbor, Mich. - Erasing a five-point halftime deficit, the Marian men's basketball team poured in 55 points in the second half as the Knights landed a come-from-behind 80-71 victory over Spring Arbor Wednesday night. Marian's win evens the season series against the Cougars, improving their overall record to 10-11 and their league slate to 4-7.

Wedensday's early start time prompted a delayed scoring output for Marian, as the Knights had trouble getting their offense in gear as they began the game with three empty trips down the floor. Dylan Moles broke the silence with the game's first basket as he returned after a one-game absence, and helped the Knights build a 6-3 lead by the first media timeout. Aidan Franks followed what Moles started, as the redshirt-freshman picked up his scoring output from previous games with an early three-pointer to regain control of the lead, scoring 10 unanswered points for his team.

Franks' scoring clip punctuated a 10-2 run that increased Marian's lead to eight points, as the road warriors held a 16-8 lead. Spring Arbor charged back after falling behind three scores, going inside to their leading-scorer Gabe Newhof. The junior big sparked a 10-2 run for the Cougars that led to the score drawing back to a standstill. The game showed a tie with 6:49 to play, but Marian remained in control as Luke Carroll and Josiah Gustin delivered over the next two minutes of game action to keep their team on top. Gustin's bucket with 4:19 to play gave Marian a 22-20 lead, but was not enough offense to hold down Spring Arbor, as the home team caught fire behind Aden Zank's three, ending the first half on a 10-3 run.

The Cougars scored the final seven points of the period in their closing sprint, holding a 30-25 lead over Marian at the break. The late three for Zank allowed Spring Arbor to lead for the majority of the final three minutes in the half, while Marian held a lead for over 13 minutes. 

Marian made strong adjustments during the halftime break, getting a high-efficiency three pointer from Noah Lovan on their first possession in the period to spark the offense. Moles and Franks followed suit as they dropped shot after shot inside the arc, shredding the Cougars defense as they made the game a one-score affair. Lovan leveled the score at 40 each as Marian completed the race to draw even, and with 12:43 to play the Knights got a spark from Reis Butcher. The freshman attacked the basket and drew contact at the rim, giving his team a 43-42 lead with the three-point play. 

Butcher's old-school three sparked a 7-0 run, as he and Franks each added to the new found lead and forced Spring Arbor to call for timeout with 11:43 remaining. Leading 47-42, Marian stayed aggressive and pushed their lead into double figures, attacking the basket over the next two minutes to extend their hold on the game. The Cougars would keep within 10 points of the Knights after Moles secured the first 10-point lead in the game for either team, but the home squad failed to recover after Aidan Franks buried a three with 6:35 to play. The second-year Knight's shot from downtown pushed the lead to 12, and three minutes later Jackson Ames converted a three-point play, driving the advantage to 15 points.

The Knights led 66-51 after Ames' three-point play, and with 3:50 to play in the game, Spring Arbor was unable to mount a comeback effort, as Marian knocked down their free throws in the waning moments to secure their upset win over the fourth-place Cougars, sealing an 80-71 victory. 

After shooting 36 percent in the first half, Marian made 63 percent of their field goals over the final 20 minutes, while going 19-22 from the charity stripe in the second half. Marian out-scored Spring Arbor 55-41 in the second half, and led for the final 12:43 of the game, totaling over 25 minutes with the lead in the contest.

Aidan Franks shined for Marian in the win, as he scored a career-high 35 points, dropping 20 in the second half alone. The 30-point outing is Franks' second of the season, as he ended the game shooting 13-22 from the field while grabbing a pair of steals and rebounds. Noah Lovan finished the night with 17 points and five assists, while Dylan Moles scored 12 points. Butcher scored seven points off the bench, and Gavin Foe collected a game-high nine rebounds.  

Marian will finish their two-game road stretch on Saturday, traveling to Taylor University for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off against the Trojans.

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