Marian men's basketball rallies for overtime win at CUC

RIVER FOREST, Ill. - Concordia Chicago was able to force overtime after a big second half comeback but Marian University men's basketball (8-8, 7-4 NACC) were able to rally in overtime to defeat Concordia Chicago 84-83.
Marian shot the lights out in the opening half as they were able to lead 49-30 heading into the break.  The Sabres went 19-27 (.704) from the field including 4-7 (.571) from beyond the arc with nine different Sabres scoring.  Senior Alex Manhardt led the charge in the strong offensive half recording a double-double in his first 17 minutes of action with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Marian was able to build their lead to as large as 22 points after a three-pointer from junior Ryan Biffert put the Sabres ahead 52-30 with 19:19 left in regulation.  From there, the Cougars chipped away at the Marian lead but the Sabres managed to hold a comfortable lead until the final minutes.
After a pair of free throws from freshman Tristan Van Ess put Marian ahead 73-65 with 3:07 left in the half, the Cougars rallied using a 10-2 run to send the game into overtime.
The Cougars used the momentum from the end of the second half to score the first four points of the overtime, their first lead of the game.  A three-pointer from sophomore Trentin Fouse proved to be a momentum shifter, however, as it cut the Marian deficit to one with 2:05 left. 
From there, the final scoring would all come from the charity stripe where a pair of free throws from freshman Logan Hamilton gave MU their first lead of the overtime and another pair from junior Tyrese Pinson put the Sabres ahead for good with seven seconds remaining.
Manhardt closed out the game with 21 points and 19 rebounds, 15 on the defensive end to lead Marian.  Van Ess and Fouse came off the bench to chip in 13 points along with Biffert, while Hamilton closed out with 12 points.
The Sabres closed out the win 27-58 (.466) from the field but committed 24 turnovers that led to 26 Cougar points.  The Marian bench also closed out the game with 44 points.
Marian returns home when they host Rockford at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 from Sadoff Gym.