Indianapolis —- Marian University Men's Basketball redshirt junior Aidan Franks scored 28 points off the bench to lead the Knights to a 96-82 win over IU Southeast in the home opener, marking the first win for Steve Drabyn as Marian head coach.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian was 34-of-55 (62 percent) from the field, while IU Southeast went 34-for-68 (50 percent) from the floor
- The Knights were 11-for-22 (50 percent) from three-point range; the Grenadiers were 7-for-18 (39 percent) from long range
- MU was 17-for-19 (90 percent) at the free throw line, while Southeast went 7-for-12 (58 percent) at the foul line
- Marian out-rebounded IU Southeast 39-21, with 11 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance points
- The Grenadiers dished out 14 assists to just six turnovers, while the Knights had 13 assists to 15 turnovers; IU Southeast led 21-6 in points off turnovers
- MU had four of the six blocks in the game; IU Southeast had six of eight steals
- The Grenadiers held a slight 44-42 edge in points in the paint; Marian led 47-15 in bench points
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Franks scored 28 points on 11-for-15 shooting and 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range
- Josiah Gustin recorded a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds
- Joshua Renfro chipped in 15 points off the bench with three triples
- Kody Clancy was the fourth Knight in double figures with 14 points
- Brayden Goff dished out a team-high five assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
- Clancy opened the game with a three-pointer on Marian's first possession
- The Grenadiers led 12-7 after Alex Johnson's jumper
- IU Southeast's lead grew to eight around the 14-minute mark
- Franks scored five straight before a Gustin jumper cut the Knights' deficit to a single possession
- IU Southeast responded with eight six straight points before Owen Marshall and Renfro canned three-pointers to get within a single point
- Marian took its first lead in nearly 12 minutes after another Franks three-pointer
- Franks and Renfro triples helped push the Marian lead to seven at the 2:11 mark
- A 4-0 IU Southeast run was capped by Goff's three-pointer
- The Grenadiers sunk a pair of late free throws to cut the Marian lead to 49-44 lead at the halftime break
SECOND HALF
- An early 8-0 run swung the lead to IU Southeast just over three minutes into the second half
- Franks' and-one capped a 7-0 Marian run to put the Knights back in front
- Six straight points from the Grenadiers tied the game at 58 at the 13:38 mark
- Renfro's three-pointer and Franks' layup gave the Knights a five-point cushion
- The Grenadiers tied the game once again at 71 just to be answered with a 9-0 Marian run, capped by Clancy's three-pointer
- The lead grew to 11 points near the five-minute mark on Renfro's layup
- Peyton Byrd's putback dunk was the exclamation mark in the closing minute
UP NEXT
- Marian heads to Michigan this weekend, facing Lawrence Tech on Friday at 5 p.m.
