Box Score

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Less than a week after grabbing first place in the Northern Athletics Conference North Division, the Eagles gave it back. Marian University took a slim halftime lead, extended it in the second half and then dodged a wild Edgewood College comeback attempt to hand the Eagles a 70-69 defeat at Sadoff Gymnasium.

Edgewood College (14-4, 8-2 NAC) scored 11 of the first 15 points of the game to open up and early seven point lead. However, as the Eagles' shooting got colder, the Sabres got hotter. Marian University (7-12, 4-7 NAC) hit seven of their last nine shots of the first half and eventually grabbed their first lead of the game 28-27 on their last possession before halftime. Senior Kent Faurote hit all three of his shots from the field and finished the half with 11 points and five rebounds.

Through the first nine minutes of the second half there were six lead changes and the margin never rose above four points. With the Eagles leading 47-46, the Sabres made a decisive move. Marian University used five free throws and a pair of three-pointers to open their largest lead of the game at 57-50 with seven minutes to go. The Eagles still trailed by seven at 64-57 when the comeback began.

First Cashton Craig came off a screen at the top of the key and drilled a three-pointer. On the next possession, Ben Wisniewski buried a triple from the right wing and got fouled on the play. He missed the free throw, but the Eagles had still cut the margin to 64-63 in a matter of 35 seconds.

In the final minute, Michael Janusek hit a pair of free throws following an offensive rebound and Marian's Alex Gomez gave the Eagles life by making just one of two foul shots on the other end. Trailing 70-67, Craig drove hard down the lane line and scored inside to cut the lead to 70-69. Pressuring the inbounds pass, Wisniewski came up with a steal and the Eagles had a chance to go for the win following a timeout with 3.3 seconds to play. The Eagles threw an inbounds lob to Faurote, but his contested effort was a little too strong and the rebound went out of bounds to the Sabres, sealing the game.

Faurote finished as the Eagles leading scorer, putting up 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, and a team-high six rebounds. Wisniewski hit four three-point shots and closed the game with 17 points, including 11 in the second half. He added four steals. Craig tallied 12 points and a team-high three steals. The Eagles shot 64 percent in the second half and 51.1 percent for the game.

Marian was led by Harris, who went 10-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from the three-point line for 26 points. Mark Keller and Mike Keller chipped in 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Mark Keller went 3-for-3 from the three-point line. The Sabres shot a season-best 57.9 percent from the field.

Edgewood College will return home on Saturday for the annual Jam the Gym celebration. The Eagles will face Dominican University at 4:15 p.m. The game can be seen live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.