NEW ULM, Minn. - Marian University men's basketball (2-8, 1-4 NACC) ended the first half of their season defeating Martin Luther 69-64 in non-conference action.

The Knights opened with a 17-14 lead with 9:58 left in the first half before Marian went on a 12-2 run to go ahead 26-19 with 6:42 in the opening stanza.  Martin Luther was then able to cut their deficit down to two with at the halftime horn to put the score at 35-33 going into the break.

The defenses then dominated in the second half with Martin Luther managing to tie the game at 42-42 with 11:59 left in regulation.  Marian responded with a 9-4 stretch to take a five-point advantage only to have MLC rally once again to take a 54-52 lead with 6:19 left on the clock. 

The Martin Luther lead was built out to as large as five with as little as 2:57 left to play before Marian rallied in the final minutes.  A quick 7-1 spurt saw Marian retake the lead for good with 51 seconds left to play at 63-62. 

The Sabres were then able to ice the game after forcing a pair of MLC turnovers and going 6-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute.  The charity stripe proved to be kind for the Sabres as Marian finished the game going 19-25 (.760) from the free-throw line.

Four different Sabres finished in double-figures led by sophomore Scott Paulus who posted a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds, seven of which were offensive.  Junior Justin Wilson had a strong game as well nearly missing a double-double after recording 12 points with nine boards.

Marian opens the second half with three road games starting at Benedictine Saturday, Jan. 4 for a 2 p.m. tilt.