Indianapolis, Ind. - The Marian men's basketball team exhaled a breath of relief on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights survived a late rally from Spring Arbor to earn their first victory of the 2025-26 season. Marian won the game 71-70, earning their first win as the Cougars' Travis Grayson missed a potential game-winning shot as time expired. 

In the most competitive game of the season to date, the Knights fed off the energy from the home crowd on Saturday, playing stout defense throughout the first half. The game teetered back and forth after Blake Russell opened the scoring with the game's first basket, as a low-scoring start saw the Knights trailing 7-6 at the first media timeout of the day. Dylan Moles put the Knights back on top after the timeout with a pair of free throws, and teed up Aaron Humphrey Jr. and Ehladj Diallo, who provided a spark with the team's next seven points.

Diallo's quick five points off the bench put Marian in the lead 15-11 as the half hit the midway point, and set the tone for the next eight minutes as the ball continued to move for both teams. The contest went without a stoppage from the 11:07 mark until the media timeout at 6:48, with the Knights' finding a scoring groove behind Ron Rutland III. Rutland buried a pair of three-point shots in the stretch, while five points from Aidan Franks gave Marian a 26-17 lead by the media stoppage. After the timeout, Spring Arbor would claw back, outscoring Marian 13-4 to make the game a seven-point contest.

Despite not scoring over the final 2:44 of the first half, Marian went into the locker room leading 37-30.

Scoring took priority after halftime, as a three-pointer from Humphrey on the opening possession of the period pushed Marian in front by 10, but the Cougars would stay steady, scoring to keep the game within striking distance. Spring Arbor whittled Marian's lead to four within the first four minutes of the half, prompting a timeout by the home team. Dylan Moles came out of the timeout and pushed Marian back in by six, starting a back-and-forth stretch of one score answering the other.

Leading 44-40 at the under-15 media timeout, Marian turned the scoring over to their guards, as Moles and Joshua Renfro shouldered the load with a pair of makes. The Cougars answered with three consecutive scores to make the game a two-point contest, but the Knights would find an answer in a Moles pull-up jumper, while a three for Humphrey extended the lead to seven at 54-47.

Marian gradually regained their double-figure advantage as Franks scored a pair of hoops to take a 61-50 lead. The second of Franks' makes came with 6:29 to play in the game, putting Marian in a strong position to claim the victory. Moles would extend that lead to 14 a minute later with a made basket, but the Cougars proved a worthy adversary. Spring Arbor seven unaswered points to slash the lead in half, and continued attacking as the game moved to a five point affair with under three minutes to go. 

The Knights were able to stave off the Cougars with free throws from Humphrey and Moles, but a turnover would allow the game to inch closer, with Spring Arbor inching within four. The lead again dropped to two points after a Dante Favor layup with 20 seconds to play, forcing Marian to the line as the Cougars fouled to extend the game. Renfro buried two foul shots to give Marian a 71-67 lead, but no lead was safe, as the Cougars' Travis Grayson buried a three with 6.7 seconds left to make the game a one-point contest. Spring Arbor fouled Elhadj Diallo on the ensuing inbounds, but the third-year Knight missed both free throws with 5.8 seconds to play. Spring Arbor pushed the ball down court, but as time expired, a floater from Grayson rimmed out, allowing Marian to escape with a 71-70 win. 

Aaron Humphrey Jr. led Marian in scoring as they earned their first victory of the season, scoring 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double in seven games. Dylan Moles scored 14 points in the win, and Rutland scored 13. Franks led the bench with nine points and three assists, while Diallo had three steals to go with eight points. 

The Knights will look to ride the momentum of their win into Thanksgiving weekend, when the Knights play in the Chicagoland area against St. Xavier and St. Francis.

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