MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Montrell Hobbs scored a game-high 21 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season as Marian ran past North Central (Minn.) 85-75 Saturday evening at Clark-Danielson Gym.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining a significant advantage and the Sabres entered halftime with a 42-37 lead.
MU started the second half with a 14-3 run the lasted almost four minutes and led 56-40. However, with five minutes remaining in the second half the Rams fought back to within 72-69. Hobbs then scored the next four points and moments later Carvell Oliver hit a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to open up an 81-73 lead.
Four Sabres finished in double figures.
Reggie Roemer dropped 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and grabbed four rebounds. Oliver helped out 18 points and was 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Josh Creed scored 12 points and handed out four assists and finished with a game-high four blocks.
Zac Brandrup came off the bench to play 16 minutes and scored six points.
Isaiah Rustad scored 20 points to lead North Central (1-2, 0-0 UMAC).
Marian (3-1, 0-0 NACC) returns to the hardwood next Saturday against Concordia Wisconsin. Tip is set for 2 p.m.

ST. PAUL. Minn. – Josh Creed scored a game-high 20 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, but hot-shooting Northwestern (Minn.) topped Marian 87-66 Friday evening in non-conference action at the Ericksen Center.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining a significant advantage. At 1:18 Reggie Roemer grabbed the defensive rebound and finished on the offensive side of the court and Marian looked up at a 40-37 halftime deficit.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 7-0 run to put the Sabres in a precarious spot. At the 14-minute mark Alex Stecker converted a layup to bring the Blue and White to within 51-44. Just when MU looked poised to make a run, UNW made a run of its own.
What ensued was a 16-4 run that lasted nearly five minutes and the Sabres were left with too big of a hole to climb out of.
UNW (3-0, 0-0 UMAC) shot nearly 60 percent (16-of-27) from the field in the second half, while Marian hit 29 percent (10-of-25) of its shots.
Montrell Hobbs helped out with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.
UNW had four players score in double figures.
Marian (2-1, 0-0 NACC) return to the hardwood Saturday and will take on North Central (Minn.).

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- Marian rallied back from an early 15-point first-half deficit and topped Beloit 80-72 Wednesday evening in a non-conference tilt at Sadoff Gymnasium.
"I tell you what, we faced some adversity early in the first half," MU head coach Mark Boyle said following the win. "This is the type of game that I wanted this group to play because it tells us a lot about ourselves. I like how we responded and battled back."
It took 10 minutes, but the MU offense heated up.
Trailing 21-6 at the midway point of the first half, Connor Morovits drilled a 3-pointer to start 16-0 run that lasted nearly four minutes. Coincidentally, Morovits hit another trey ball at the end of the scoring binge to give the Sabres a 22-21 lead.
The two teams traded baskets the remainder of the half and went into intermission squared at 35.
The Sabres jumped on the Buccaneers to start the second half. Josh Creed nailed a jump shot to start a 14-0 run that lasted over five minutes.
Beloit (1-1, 0-0 MWC) would come to within four points late, but the Marian defense withstood the charge to closeout the win.
The Blue and White received great efforts from Montrell Hobbs and Creed.
Hobbs, a 6-foot-2 forward, tied for a team-high 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field and hauled in 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Creed also dropped 22 points and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
"Josh and Montrell played great and were active in the post." Boyle said. "A lot of games are won with rebounding and having a presence in front of the basket and that's what they did well tonight."
Alex Stecker played a team-high 34 minutes and helped out with 10 points.
The Sabres' stingy defense kept the Buccaneers off balance. MU forced 16 turnovers, which turned into 17 points. Meanwhile the Sabres protected the basketball and committed only eight turnovers.
Marian (2-0, 0-0 NACC) returns to action Friday at Northwestern (Minn.). Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

HANCOCK, Mich. – Josh Creed converted a late three-point play and Alex Stecker hit a pair of clutch free throws with eight seconds remaining in the second half to secure Marian's 67-64 win over Finlandia Saturday evening.
Trailing 64-62 with 1:56 remaining Creed drove through heavy contact to draw the foul and finished the layup. Creed hit the free throw and Marian seized a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The opening five minutes the game each team trade baskets and at the 15-minute mark the Lions led 13-10. However, Finlandia (0-1) went on a 14-1 run that lasted nearly five minutes and Marian was left looking at a 27-11 hole to climb out of.
The Sabres slowly clawed their way back and closed out the first half with a 23-12 run and entered the break trailing 39-34.
Marian started the second half with four-straight points and led 40-39 – its first lead since 17:40 in the first half.
At 8:54 Creed hit a pair of free throws and Marian led 55-48, the Sabres' largest lead of the game.
Montrell Hobbs and Creed each scored a team-high 18 points.
Creed was particularly dangerous from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-6 forward was 9-of-11 from the charity stripe and also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Hobbs was 6-of-9 from the floor and had a game-high three blocks.
As a team the Sabres shot 37 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, but in the second half hit 44 percent (11-of-25) of their shots.
Despite being outrebounded 36-32, Marian scored 28 points in the paint, while holding Finlandia to 10.
Marian (1-0) returns to the hardwood Wednesday, Nov. 18 against Beloit. Tip is for 7 p.m. at Sadoff Gymnasium.