Fort Wayne, Ind. - The Marian men's basketball team held a lead on multiple possessions in the second half Saturday, but a late surge from the University of St. Francis saw Marian fall on the losing end in the 80-72 contest. Marian's loss drops them to 5-11 in the Crossroads League and 11-15 on the season.
Marian and St. Francis battled throughout Saturday's game, as Marian never let the lead get outside of double figures until the closing moments.
Dylan Moles started the game strong for the Knights as he scored the team's first seven points, and helped the Knights punch first as they led through first four moments. The 7-6 lead slipped as Branden Northern put the host Cougars on top with 15:47 to play in the half, keeping the home team in the lead for the remainder of the first half.
A 6-0 run forced Marian to call timeout as they trailed 12-7, but slowly the Knights regained their footing as Ehladj Diallo and
Reis Butcher knocked down a deep-shot to cut back within one. Butcher would tie the game at 16 each with 10:48 remaining in the first half as the Knights kept building momentum, however a foul on the ensuing possession slowed the spark, as the Cougars pushed back in front at the foul line. The game would jostle back to a draw twice over the next two minutes, but stayed in favor of St. Francis as Marian was unable to take a lead. Marian never let St. Francis lead by more than five points over the final eight minutes of the first half, and ended the period on a 5-2 run with
Jackson Ames making the halftime score 36-33.
The Knights continued their fight and resiliency after halftime, going to
Aidan Franks and Moles to tie the game within the first two minutes of the half.
Noah Lovan gave Marian their first lead in just under 20 minutes of gameplay as he made a pair of shots at the free throw line to take a 42-41 edge, and a handful of minutes later Marian led 49-48 after Moles buried a three pointer.
Jackson Ames and
Gavin Foe kept Marian in the game as the Knights led once more following a Cougar score, while Foe helped bring the game back even by the 10:26 mark as the score showed a 54-54 stalemate.
Lovan scored the tying point at 54, but like the first half, another costly foul sent the Cougars to the line, this time for three chances where Zane Burke knocked down each shot. The three-point foul proved costly, as Marian was only able to come back within one point over the remainder of the game. Luke Almodovar put the game to a two-possession lead with 7:05 to play, and helped the Cougars stay in front for good, as they eventually took a 10 point lead in the final three minutes before closing the game as 80-72 victors.
Moles led Marian in scoring with 20 points, while Butcher and Ames each scored in double figures off the bench, scoring 11 and 10, respectively. Foe led the team in rebounds with six, adding a team-best three steals to his final statline.
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