MARION, Ind. -- Marian (Ind.) used a 22-3 run that spanned to halves to turn a nine point deficit into a 51-41 lead. No. 2-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball never recovered in an 85-72 loss at Luckey Arena in the Crossroads League opener for both teams.

Game Vitals

• Score:  Marian - 85   |   Indiana Wesleyan - 72
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 6-1, 0-1 CL   |   Marian 8-0, 1-0 CL
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 2   |   Marian - Not ranked
• Location:   Luckey Arena   |   Indiana Wesleyan University   |   Marion, Indiana 
• Brief:  Marian (Ind.) used a 22-3 run that spanned to halves to turn a nine point deficit into a 51-41 lead. No. 2-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball never recovered in an 85-72 loss at Luckey Arena in the Crossroads League opener for both teams.

What Went Down

• Josh Mawhorr (SR/Muncie, Ind.) hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first three minutes to give Indiana Wesleyan a 13-4 lead.
• The Wildcats 10 point lead of 31-21 with 6:50 left in the first half was the largest of the first 20 minutes.
• Indiana Wesleyan led 38-29 on a Jonny Marlin (SR/Greenwood, Ind.) 3-pointer but Marian responded with a 12-0 run in the final three minutes to take a 41-38 lead into halftime. Six of the 12 points during the run were free throws.
• Marian extended their 12-0 run to end the first half to a 22-3 run. Their nine point deficit turned into a 51-41 lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game.
• The Wildcats would get as close as seven points over the final 15 minutes on four different occasions. The last of those came at 65-58 with 7:32 on the clock.
• Marian held a 15 point lead two time in the final minute. That was the largest lead of the game for either team.
• The Knights bench outscored the Wildcats bench 37-5. Wesley Stowers came off the MU bench to score a game-high 22 points.
• Lane Mahurin (JR/Rockville, Ind.) had 17 points and 9 rebounds while Jonny Marlin added 17 points and 7 assists to lead Indiana Wesleyan.

Coaches Corner

• “I don’t know exactly what caused it there. I have some ideas but I’ll be anxious to go back and watch the film and really dig into that. We didn’t make shots and we bled defensively. Too many breakdowns from a lack of communication. We were bad on both ends of the ball and you can’t do that against a good team.”   -- IWU head coach Greg Tonagel on Marian 22-3 run

Extra! Extra!

• Indiana Wesleyan had their lowest point total of the season (72) and lowest shooting percentage of the season (.448) and tied for their lowest amount of 3-pointers made (7).
• It was the first loss in a Crossroads League opener for Indiana Wesleyan since 2009.

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan is off a week for the Thanksgiving holiday. Indiana Wesleyan returns next Tuesday night with a road game at Spring Arbor (Mich.). Tip-off is at 7 p.m. in Spring Arbor, Michigan.