Marion, Ind. - The Marian men's basketball team ended their 2024-25 season on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights failed to keep up the pace against Indiana Wesleyan in an 88-73 road loss. 

The season finale for the Knights started in a high-paced back and forth battle, as Marian went shot for shot with Indiana Wesleyan. Dylan Moles sparked Marian's offense as they led 6-4 through the first two minutes of play, while a spark from Gavin Foe moments later helped Marian hold a 14-10 as the first five minutes expired. An 8-2 run going into the first media timeout allowed the Wildcats to roar back in front, as the home team took the lead with 14:00 to play.

Marian would trail 18-16 at the media break with 12:32 to go in the half, but were never able to regain the lead, as the Wildcats hit a streak of three consecutive possessions with a score to force timeout. The hot-shooting Wildcats led 28-20 as Marian called for a break, and continued to build their lead as a Bright Kari dunk capped their hot streak. Elhadj Diallo and Reis Butcher scored a three-point play of the easy and difficult style to cut the difference back to six, but a response from Isaac Andrews helped Indiana Wesleyan vault back into a double-digit lead. The pair of deep shots solidified Indiana Wesleyan's lead on the game, as they expanded their 38-26 advantage to 49-32 over the final 6:25 of the first half.

After starting the first eight minutes of play shooting 50 percent from the field, Marian ended the first half making 34 percent of their total attempts.

In the second half Indiana Wesleyan put the game away in the first few minutes of the period, growing their edge to 20 points within two minutes of play. Marian got good scoring looks throughout the period from Gavin Foe, Noah Lovan, and Dylan Moles, but despite the makes from the floor the Knights could not break the hold on the game. The Wildcats lead eventually grew to 29 points as they sealed their victory. 

Marian put together a good finish in the defeat, out-scoring Indiana Wesleyan 25-11 over the final 6:57 of play, as three-point shots from Elhadj Diallo and Jackson Ames made the score closer before the final horn sounded in the 88-73 defeat. 

Marian shot 7-10 from downtown in the second half, ending the game shooting 11-19 from three-point land. Moles and Diallo each scored a team-best 14 points, and Gavin Goe had 12 points to go with seven rebounds. Noah Lovan dished out five assists and scored nine points, and Ames finished the game with eight points and three rebounds. 

Marian's season closes with a final record of 11-17 overall, finishing ninth in the Crossroads League with a 5-13 league record. 

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