FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Senior forward Alex Merbach (Kaukauna, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) scored a career-high 39 points to surpass 1,000 for his career, but the Marian Sabres overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half and escaped with a 60-59 win over the Warriors on Wednesday night at the Sadoff Gymnasium. The loss eliminates WLC from the upcoming Northern Athletics Conference Tournament.

The Warriors never trailed in the first half as they jumped out to a 13-3 lead at the 15:10 mark after Merbach scored nine straight points for WLC. The 10-point margin tied for WLC's largest lead of the opening half. Wisconsin Lutheran led 19-10 with 10:58 remaining, before Marian scored nine straight points to cut its deficit to just one point at 19-18.

WLC responded with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 28-18 advantage with 5:54 left before halftime. The Warriors remained in control the rest of the half and went into the locker room ahead 36-27.

Wisconsin Lutheran, which shot 44 percent (15-for-34) in the first half and 5-for-11 from three-point range. committed just three turnovers. Merbach led all scorers with 22 points on 10-for-15 shooting with five rebounds. The Sabres, who went 9-for-20 (45 percent) from the floor, turned the ball over 14 times. Mike Keller netted a team-high 11 points for Marian.

After out-scoring the Sabres 10-4 over the first 7:48 of the second half, the Warriors held a game-high 15-point lead at 46-31. Merbach's milestone basket came at the 17:34 mark as he became the 18th player in men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career-point plateau. Shortly after its largest lead of the game, WLC was held scoreless for nearly 5:30. Marian trimmed its deficit to just one point at 48-47 and then tied the game for the first time at 50-50 with 4:06 to play. The Warriors twice after held a two-point lead before Marian took its first lead of the game at 55-54 with 3:06 remaining.

WLC came back to grab leads of 57-55 and 59-57 before Sam Koslowski tied the game up for Marian at 59-59. The Warriors turned the ball over on the following inbounds play and MU took possession with 39 seconds left. Mike Keller was fouled with nine seconds on the clock and knocked down one free throw, before the Warriors had one final chance to come away with the victory.

Following a timeout with six seconds to play, Russell Strutz's (Sturtevant, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) jumped just inside the three-point line from the left side caromed off the rim and Marian grabbed the rebound for the heartbreaking 60-59 defeat.

The Warriors shot just 24.1 percent (7-for-29) in the second half, compared to the Sabres' stellar 52 percent (13-for-25).

Merbach finished the game with a career-high 39 points and was the only Warrior to reach double figures. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Merbach's previous career high was 31 points scored a season ago at Aurora. For the game, the Warriors shot 34.9 percent (22-for-63) from the floor. They out-scored the Sabres 25-10 in points off turnovers, while committing a season-low nine miscues.

Cody Veleke scored 18 points to pace three players in double figures for Marian (9-13, 6-8 NAC), which shot 48.9 percent (22-for-45) for the game. Mike Keller added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The two teams combined to shoot 21-for-23 from the free throw line.

Wisconsin Lutheran (5-17, 4-10 NAC) travels to Madison, Wis. on Saturday to face Edgewood (16-5, 10-3 NAC). Game time is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action via live audio, stats and video at wlcsports.com.