Raiders Nip Sabres Down the Stretch, 70-61

By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – It was a see-saw battle of cross-divisional teams and in the end came down to free throws as the visiting MSOE Raiders outlasted the host Marian University men's basketball team, 70-61, in Northern Athletics Conference action inside Sadoff Gymnasium, today, Dec. 10.

Leading 55-52 with 8:23 remaining, it looked as if Marian Head Coach Mark Boyle might be in line to capture his 300th career victory in his 2011-12 debut fresh off recovering from heart surgery earlier this year. However, MSOE had other plans as an 18-6 run carried the Raiders to their third straight NAC win amidst 13 ties and 15 lead changes and behind a game-high and career-high 30 points from sophomore John Cording.

The free throw disparity was evident as the Raiders knocked down 27 of their 36 attempts, while the Sabres hit just 11-of-17. Cording went 8-for-10 at the line and 9-of-14 from the floor, including a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range in the win. The Sabres were led by Cody Veleke's 22 points and six rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting and 2-of-2 from long range. Both teams held slim leads in each half, but it wasn't until the end when MSOE pulled away for good.

MSOE improves to 4-4 overall, 3-1 in NAC play with the win, while Marian falls to 2-6 (0-4 NAC) with the loss.

An 8-0 run made the difference for the Raiders, capped off by a pair of made free throws by Oren Bloom with 3:27 remaining to make it 60-55. Veleke hit a layup to cut it to a one possession game, but then Cording answered back with a layup of his own to make it 62-57 with 2:48 remaining.

A couple open looks failed to cut the deficit more than four as MSOE took care of business at the line down the stretch seal the win.

Jeff Harris notched 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting in 34 minutes. Mark Keller added six points, five rebounds and six assists before fouling out in the final minute.

The Sabres led by as many as three points in the first half at 22-19, but the Raiders came back to take a 29-28 advantage into the break. Sam Koslowski poured in nine of his 13 points in the first half and Veleke added eight, MSOE's Cording led all scorers with 15 points in the opening frame.

Marian will take a break from conference action until Jan. 7, instead playing four non-conference contests between now and then, starting with a road tilt at Dubuque on Dec. 17. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.