INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian College men's basketball dropped its first home game of the season on Tuesday night as the Grace College Lancers defeated the Knights, 80-67, at the Physical Education Center.

 

The Knights are now 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the MCC.

 

Over the first 14:37 of the game, the two teams were separated by no more than seven points and were tied seven times with the final tie being at the 5:23 mark when they score was 22-22. However, the Lancers went on a 10-0 run and closed the half with a 13-4 advantage over the final five minutes to take a 35-26 lead into the locker room.

 

Grace boosted its lead to 14 with 17:18 remaining in the game, 44-30, but the Knights went on an 8-0 run to cut the gap to six, 44-38, with 13:19 remaining.

 

The Lancers answered with an 8-0 run of their own to secure a 14-point lead, 52-38, with 11:24 remaining. However, the Knights cut the lead back to six, 60-54, with 6:15 to go in the game.

 

The teams traded buckets until a three-pointer put the Lancers up 69-58 with 4:13 to go. The Knights could get no closer than eight over the final four minutes and fell to the Lancers, 80-67.

 

Sophomore Jordan Tucker (Kirklin, Indiana/Clinton Central) led the Knights with a career-high 24 points. It was his third career game with over 20 points. He also had four rebounds and a team-high three steals.

 

Freshman Alex Sylvester (Indianapolis/Perry Meridian) added 15 points, two rebounds, and three assists. He was 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

 

Freshman Jameson Wheeler (Plainfield, Indiana/Plainfield) added eight points and a game-high nine assists and also had four rebounds. Junior Heath Chamberlain (Brazil, Indiana/Northview) had a team-high six rebounds for the Knights.

 

The Knights hit the road on Saturday when they head to the University of Saint Francis (IN) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a Mid-Central College Conference matchup. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. tip.