(MARIAN RELEASE)
INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's basketball team saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Monday night, as Huntington completed the upset of the 10th-ranked Knights, pulling off a 73-71 win. After a Christian Stewart three tied the game with 4.4 seconds remaining, Huntington's Zach Goodline raced the length of the floor in 4.2 seconds to hit a game-winning layup with .2 seconds to play. Marian's loss drops their overall record to 8-2 on the season, as they dip to 4-2 in Crossroads League play.
Marian got off to a sluggish start to begin their week, missing their first five shots from the field, as Huntington forced the Knights into tough shots from three. Huntington was able to build a five-point lead in Marian's short, and led 5-0 at the under-16 media timeout. Tyrie Johnson was finally able to open the lid to the rim for Marian after the media stoppage, as he was able to earn the first point at the foul line. Johnson's free throw created an 8-2 run and put Marian ahead 8-7 as the clock dipped under 13 minutes.
The game continued to stay a low-scoring contest, with the two sides trading punches to get a 12-12 deadlock with 9:55 remaining in the half. Marian outlasted Huntington 4-2 as time dipped under eight minutes to play in the half, but the offense soon picked up as Cameron Wolter and Malek Edmonds got more involved with the offense. Wolter scored six straight for Marian to increase the lead to six, with an Edmonds steal and slam dunk pushing the lead to eight, giving the home side a 24-16 advantage with 5:47 remaining.
Huntington traded baskets with Marian after the dunk as the two sides exchanged baskets, but the Foresters shooting touch went cold over the final 3:46, as the visitors failed to make a field goal. Christian Harvey and Luke Gohmann carried the Knights in the final 3:46, with the duo combining for eight points in Marian's closing 10-3 run. Marian led 38-29 at halftime, shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, despite starting the game 2-9 from beyond the arc.
The Knights held their lead throughout the early minutes of the second half, going up by as many as 11 Harvey and Gohmann found early points for the home team. Huntington hung right with Marian, trading baskets and soon whittling the lead down to four after a jumper from Ben Humrichous just before the media timeout. Harvey matched Humrichous' basket with a layup of his own, and gave Marian a 46-40 lead at the media timeout.
The Foresters outscored Marian 6-3 after the media timeout, but a fallaway three-pointer from Christian Stewart as the shot clock expired re-energized the Marian offense, sparking a 8-0 that lasted 101 seconds. Humrichous ended the run with 11:06 left, as Marian looked in control of the game with a 57-48 lead.
After the Humrichous score, the Foresters blitzed Marian with a run of their own, outscoring Marian 13-2 over a six-minute span to take their first lead of the second half at 61-59. Stewart finally put an end to the run with a jumper of his own with 4:23 remaining to tie the game at 61, with Marian taking back the lead 40 seconds later on a layup from Harvey.
Huntington would again respond and go through Humrichous, as the 6'8" freshman scored two of his 20 points to tie the game at 63. Marian came up short on their next possession, and Zach Goodline made the Knights pay at the line, converting three free throws after getting fouled on a corner trey. Wolter answered with a three-point play of his own, converting the old-school trey to tie the game at 66 with 2:27 remaining. After a scoreless minute, Peyton West of Huntington hit a pair of free throws to take a 68-66 lead, forcing a Marian timeout with 1:22 remaining.
Marian went to Stewart to take the lead, but his shot missed, resulting in a scramble for the rebound. Gohmann was shoved on his box out attempt, and hit both penalty free throws to tie the game with 58.6 seconds left. Goodline returned on the next possession and hit the go-ahead shot to put the visitors in front 70-68, and a Hank Pulver free throw made it a three point game following a missed shot from Wolter.
With 22.2 seconds left, Marian went to their senior Stewart, who hit a stepback three with 4.4 seconds left, tying the game at 71 all. With time on the clock, Huntington went the length of the floor in 4.2 seconds, as Goodline made the game-winning layup with .2 seconds remaining. Marian's final play was a full-court pass, but the ball was deflected away, giving Huntington the 73-71 upset win.
Wolter recorded his seventh double-double in the loss, scoring 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. Stewart scored 16 points and Harvey had 13 for the Knights in the loss. Marian shot 45.8 percent from the floor in the game, going just 5-18 from three-point territory.
Marian will take to the road for a mid-week Crossroads League matchup with No. 20 St. Francis. Wednesday's matchup will take place at 7 p.m.
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