Mishawaka, Ind. - The Marian men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest on Wednesday night to No. 10 Bethel University, falling by a final of 70-53 in the mid-week bout. Marian slides back to 8-8 overall on the season and 2-4 in league play.

A low-scoring contest was in the making after the opening three minutes of play, as Bethel out-scored the Knights 4-0 with the two sides combining to start the night 1-9 from the field. Marian got in a rhythm after calling a quick timeout, scoring on three straight possessions to get their offense in gear. Dylan Moles started the game strong with an early seven points, draining a three to get within one of Bethel with 13:03 to play in the half. Marian would keep within two possessions for much of the first half as the two sides matched their efforts, and clawed within one point at the under-10 minute media timeout.

Trailing 21-20 with 8:32 to play in the first half, Marian got a pair of stops with blocks from Reis Butcher and Josiah Gustin halting the Pilot attack. The defense turned into offense with 7:06 to go as Gavin Foe canned a mid-range jumper to give the Knights their first lead of the game, but Marian would be unable to hold on to their edge, as Bethel roared back. The Pilots would score on their next possession to take back the lead, embarking on a 13-1 run to cover the final 6:37 of the half. Bethel led 34-23 at the break following their run.

Marian shot strong to open the second half, however Bethel came out firing as well, with the home team starting 4-5 from the field. Despite Bethel keeping a firm hold on the lead, Marian played tough defense, trimming a 14-point Pilot lead to 10 points with 12:24 to play in the game following a pair of Noah Lovan scores. The home side used a timeout to halt the Knights' momentum, and after the stoppage went on a 7-2 run to grab a five possession lead.

Bethel would extend their lead to as many as 18 points, holding a five possession lead for over five minutes. Marian trailed 61-43 with 4:58 to play, and despite getting scores from Noah Lovan and Luke Carroll in the next minute of play, they were unable to get within five scores until the final minute of play, falling 70-57. 

Marian started the game shooting 35 percent in the opening half, improving dramatically in the second half as they shot 46 percent from the field. In spite of the shooting improvement, the Knights went 0-6 from downtown in the second half, ending the game 2-11 from the field. Lovan would end the night as the team's leading scorer with 16 points, while Dylan Moles scored 11. Aidan Franks finished the night with 10 points, and Reis Butcher led the bench with seven. 

The Knights will return to play on Saturday, coming home to the PE Center to take on St. Francis. Tip is slated for 3:00 p.m.

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