Omaha, Neb. – In a back and forth battle between a strong Freed-Hardeman squad, the Marian men’s basketball team gutted a 66-64 win in the NAIA Opening Round Friday night in game one of the Omaha Bracket. Marian will advance to the championship final with a 26-5 record.
The opening minutes of the game laid out the path for a back and forth contest Friday night, as the Knights and Lions traded buckets throughout the first few minutes of the game. A layup from Tyrie Johnson gave Marian a three-point edge five minutes in, but Freed-Hardeman roared back on a 7-2 run to go on top 12-10. Jacob Wiley got involved with the offense after the run and brought the game level for a moment, before a Wanya King three gave the Lions a 17-16 edge.
Marian called for timeout with 8:09 to go in the half to settle in, but the Lions had other plans jumping in front 20-16 after a missed layup coming back from the break. Freed-Hardeman led by as many as nine in the final five minutes of the half, but a pair of foul shots from Christian Harvey helped erase the 27-18 hole. Harvey and Christian Stewart helped bring the gmae to a 27-27 tie with 2:29 to go as par of an 9-0 surge, however the Lions stayed in control, ending the half on a 7-2 run of their own. Going into halftime, Marian trailed 34-29 shooting 10-25 from the field and 2-12 from deep.
The Knights flipped the switch early in the second half, opening up the period on a 7-2 run to tie the game, as Wiley continued to be a problem. A three from Luke Gohmann as the clock ticked under 17 minutes gave Marian their first lead in over 12 minutes, as Wiley, Harvey, and Johnson helped push the difference to six. Marian’s 46-40 lead didn’t stick long as the Lions went on a run that spanned two minutes to re-take the lead 47-46.
After a series of traded possessions Marian found themselves back in front 52-50, and would trail just once in the rest of the game as a Stewart trifecta put the home team in front 57-54. Freed-Hardeman would tie the game twice, but the Knights got clutch jumpers from Johnson in the final 2:31 to hold control of the game. Wiley added a layup with 71 seconds left to put Marian ahead 65-62 as the Knights seemed to wrap up the win, but Freed-Hardeman had one last push getting a stop with 26 seconds to go.
The Lions had a pair of looks from three to tie the game, but were unable to get a shot from deep. Settling for a putback to make it a one-point game, Marian inbounded to Stewart after a series of timeouts, who after getting fouled split a pair of free throws. The Lions gave it one last chance with a full court pass play, but Stewart intercepted the inbounds, throwing the ball in the air to drain the clock and give Marian the 66-64 win.
Wiley led the Knights in scoring with a game-high 18 points while adding nine rebounds and two blocks, seeing his fellow senior Stewart score 16. Johnson delivered 15 points and two steals, while Harvey scored 12 points.
“We didn’t shoot well but battled on the defensive end the entire game and that kept us in the game and gave us a chance late,” said head coach Scott Heady after the win. “We got the lead and made the plays in the final 5 minutes to win the game. (I’m) really proud of the fight we had in the second half. Great team effort as we had several players make key plays. We need to get some rest and get ready for tomorrow.”
Marian will take on the No. 5 seed Concordia tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. ET in the championship game. The winner will advance to the NAIA Tournament final site in Kansas City to compete in the Round of 16.
Recent Comments