RIVER FOREST, Ill. (SabreAthletics.com) - The Marian University men's basketball team was successful in their first conference game of the year, coming away with a 61-54 win at Dominican, today, Nov. 29. The starting lineup for Marian led a balanced attack as three members ended the day with double-digit scoring.

After playing from behind for the first 10 minutes, the Sabres kicked it up a notch, finally taking the lead with 7 minutes remaining in the first to gain momentum. They then went on a 9-0 run to finish the half with 29-17 lead. Rebounds were the key to the Sabres success in the half, as 11 defensive rebounds limited second chance opportunities for the Stars.

The Sabres continued to surge in the second half. An early 7-point run capped off by a Drew Binversie layup gave the Sabres a 17-point lead with 14 minutes remaining. The Stars slowly started to creep back into the game, though, as they capitalized on some Marian turnovers to cut the lead to five with just under 6 minutes to go.

The Stars eventually got within 4 points of the Sabres, but with under a minute left in the game they had no choice but to foul to extend the game. Marian's Alex Stecker hit four clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds to silence the Stars and walk away with a victory.

Carvell Oliver led the Sabres with 12 points on the night, while Drew Binversie and Josh Creed finished with 10. Binversie also made a difference controlling the ball, leading the team with 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.

Josh Mayberry was the leading scorer for the Stars, going 9-for-20 from the field with 25 points and 5 steals in the losing effort. Dominican's Tim Robertson also had himself quite a night, posting a game-high 12 rebounds.

Despite being outshot from the floor and the foul line, the Sabres were able to limit their mistakes and take advantage of Dominican's. The Sabres turned the ball over 14 times compared to 24 times by the Stars and scored 9 more points off the turnovers to help secure the win.

After a 2-day rest, the Sabres will look for their third win in a row when they travel to Milwaukee to take on the MSOE Raiders at 7 p.m.