MARION, Ind. -- Marian (Ind.) University looked to collect their second consecutive victory over a top-10 team on Saturday afternoon but the Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball team survived 80-75 in overtime in Luckey Arena.

Indiana Wesleyan was fresh off its emotional overtime loss Tuesday at University of Saint Francis (Ind.) while Marian had just beaten No. 9-ranked Bethel (Ind.) College on Tuesday by an 83-69 margin. IWU was forced to compete for 45 minutes on Saturday to collect the win.

On Senior Day, the Wildcats roared from the tip-off with 12 of the first 14 points of the game.

Indiana Wesleyan held a 19-11 lead midway through the half when Marian came to life. Marian scored the game's next nine points for its first lead at 20-19 with 7:30 before halftime.

The final seven minutes of the half featured three ties and four lead changes. With just over one minute before intermission, Indiana Wesleyan scored the final five points, including a 3-point basket as the horn sounded by freshman guard Aaron Martin, for a 33-28 advantage. Martin finished the game with 16 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

After scoring the final five points in the first half, Indiana Wesleyan scored the first four points in the second half to open up a 37-28 lead.

Marian would trim the deficit to two points (39-37), but Indiana Wesleyan responded with its largest lead of the afternoon at 58-48 at the midway point of the half.

Again, the Knights answered and scored seven straight points to close the gap to 58-55. The Wildcats would increase the lead to a two possession game for the next two minutes until a bucket by freshman forward Matt Dickerson cut the score to 63-61 with 6:16 to play.

On the next Marian possession, freshman forward Mac Fiely hit two of three free throws to bring the score to 64-63. MU earned the fourth tie of the day when junior guard Jordan Tucker drilled a 3-pointer for a 68-68 deadlock with 1:54 remaining.

With less than a minute to play, Indiana Wesleyan turned the ball over and Marian attempted to take their first lead of the second half. But an offensive foul call gave IWU the final shot of regulation. Indiana Wesleyan worked the clock and pushed the ball into the post to senior center Zach Coverstone. His shot just missed as time expired to force the extra session.

Tucker hit a pair of free throws 32 seconds into overtime to give Marian its first lead since 23-21. The lead was short lived as Coverstone tied the score on the next possession.

A defensive stop for the Wildcats led to one made free throw for Martin as IWU captured its first lead in overtime at 71-70. Marian missed on its next 3-point attempt and the ball caromed to senior guard Ryan Hetrick.

Hetrick drove the length of the court and hit a driving layup. He was fouled in the process for an old fashioned 3-point play and a 74-70 lead for the Wildcats.

Marian closed the deficit to 74-72, but Coverstone scored in the paint to increase the lead back to four points. MU missed another 3-pointer as Coverstone cleaned up with a rebound. He was later fouled on the offensive end and connected on both free throws for a 78-72 advantage.

Junior guard Brandon Malone drained a 3-pointer for the Knights for a 78-75 game. The Knights had a chance to tie following a Wildcat turnover, but they in return turned it over with 23 seconds left.

Marian was force to foul and Harris hit both free throws to ice the game at 80-75.

Indiana Wesleyan was led by Coverstone with game-highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds. He dished out four assists and had two blocked shots. Harris contributed 12 points and Hetrick finished with nine.

IWU out-rebounded the visitors 35-to-27 and finished the game shooting 52.5-percent (31 of 59) from the field.

With the victory, coupled by the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) loss at Grace (Ind.) College, Indiana Wesleyan regains sole possession of first place in the Mid-Central College Conference with two games left to play. Indiana Wesleyan is 11-3 in league play while Saint Francis and Bethel are tied for second with 10-4 records.

The Wildcats will next play at Grace on Tuesday, February 16 in Winona Lake, Indiana. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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