Omaha, Neb. – The Marian men’s basketball team’s magical 2021-22 season came to its conclusion on Saturday night in Nebraska, as the Knights fell in the NAIA Round of 32 to No. 23 Concordia University, 90-67. Marian’s season ends with a record of 26-6.
The Bulldogs rushed the Knights early Saturday night, connecting on five of their first eight shots of the game, opening the first four minutes on a 13-2 run. Marian called for a timeout to regain their bearings, and did so quickly snapping the Bulldogs streak with a 7-0 run, paced by five Christian Stewart points. The three minute spree came to a halt after Concordia’s Noah Schutte scored five unanswered, starting another run for Concordia. Concordia continued to hit shots, and forced a Marian timeout with 9:51 to go in the half leading 27-14.
Jacob Wiley halted the run after the timeout with a putback bucket as he and Stewart got Marian within 11, but the Bulldogs continued to connect making three 3’s in a two minute window to baloon their lead to 21 points. A Hayden Langkabel and Tyrie Johnson bucket kept Marian’s offense in check, but the sharp-shooting Bulldogs kept their lead over 15, entering the half leading 46-26. The deficit was Marian’s largest of the season.
Concordia continued to add to their lead as the second half began, scoring inside and out to counter four Christian Harvey points. The two teams traded shot for shot, as Marian was unable to get under their 20-point halftime mark. Trailing 59-39 Marian was finally able to get inside the 20-point threshold on two Brody Whitaker free throws with 12:20 remaining, but couldn’t get a stop to build momentum as Sam Scarpelli drained another three.
The Knights continued to trail between 18 and 23 points over the next five minutes, as Concordia answered every Marian score with one of their own. A dunk from Harvey seemed to help Marian make one last push as Stewart added to the 6-0 run with a pair of foul shots, but Concordia snuffed out the threat sinking six straight free throws. Unable to cut the margin to 15, Marian began rolling in their substitutes, ending their season in a 90-67 defeat.
In the loss Marian shot 37.9 percent from the field, while Concordia made 51.9, out-shooting Marian from deep 13-5. Harvey led Marian in points with 13, while Wiley and Stewart ended their career’s each scoring 11 points. Johnson and Luke Gohmann each scored eight, and Langkabel picked up eight off the bench. Johnson led the Knights in rebounding in his final collegiate game.
Marian ends their season with a 26-6 record, ending the year in the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth straight season.
Recent Comments