FOND DU LAC, Wis. – The Marian men's basketball team converted 20-of-22 free throws, but No.7-ranked Benedictine raced past the Sabres in an 83-61 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference contest at Sadoff Gymnasium.

In the opening moments the Sabres went toe-to-toe with the nationally-ranked Eagles and a pair of Jack Lund free throws at 14:33 provided Marian with a 13-12 lead.

Both teams continued to trade blows, but in the final 3:34 the Eagles went on a 10-3 run and entered halftime with a 43-29 advantage.

Benedictine (9-0, 6-0 NACC) started the second half where it left off at the end of the first stanza and a 13-6 run in the opening five minutes allowed the Eagles to grab a 56-35 lead.

Junior Josh Creed scored a team-high 12 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the line. Senior Carvell Oliver helped out with nine points and also was a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.

Lund, making his first-career start, scored six points.

Michael Blaszczyk scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Eagles.

Marian (4-6, 1-5 NACC) returns to the hardwood Dec. 30 at Ripon for a rare mid-season non-conference tilt. 

--FightBlueFight--