Box Score (St. Paul, MN) - Marian University (3-1) trailed by as many as sixteen points on Friday afternoon to Finlandia University in the first half, but came back to defeat the Lions 69-64 in their opener of the Northwestern College Tournament. The Sabres will now face the hosts in the championship game tomorrow at 7:00 PM.
The Sabres out-shot the Lions in the first half, but still trailed 38-30 at the break. The Lions led by sixteen twice in the half, with the last time being 36-20 with 5:53 to play.
The Lions still led 51-38 with 12:26 to play, but the Sabres gradually fought their way back and finally tied the game at 55 with 5:57 to play. Andrew Georgson's (Jefferson, WI) layup with 5:11 to play gave Marian their first lead since early in the first half and they led the rest of the way. They built a lead as large as five points on four occasions and went 3-for-4 down the stretch from the free-throw line.
Marian finished the game shooting 27-for-61 (44%), while Finlandia shot 28-for-80 (35%). Marian pulled down an impressive 51 rebounds, compared to 43 for the Lions.
The Sabres, who scored 46 points in the paint 20 points off the bench, were led by senior Logan Rankin (Algoma, WI) as he recorded game-high's in points (26) and rebounds (15). Bryan Ashbeck (Wabeno, WI) scored 10 points, while Georgson pulled down 10 rebounds. Kevin Hudak (Ashwaubenon, WI) was solid running the point, as he contributed 5 assists.
