Freshman Jameson Wheeler had a career-high 23 points on Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS - It seemed as if the Marian College men's basketball team was going to have a hard time against the No. 2-ranked Bethel College Pilots on Saturday.

 

The Knights were without the services of junior forward Heath Chamberlain due to injury. However, the Knights persevered and took the Pilots to the wire in an 85-82 defeat at the Physical Education Center.

 

The Knights fell to 9-6 overall and 0-5 in the Mid-Central College Conference.

 

The Pilots looked as if they were going to run away with the game as they jumped out to a nine-point lead, 18-9, just 7:20 into the game. The Knights went on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to two, 22-20, with 9:38 remaining.

 

The teams went back-and-forth over the next five minutes as the Knights finally tied the game, 36-36, with 2:44 remaining in the half. A three-pointer pushed the lead to five, 41-36, with 47 seconds left in the half before Bethel closed with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 41-40 at the interval.

 

The lead changed six times over the first 2:45 of the second half before the Knights took a four-point lead, 50-46, with 17:00 remaining in the game.

 

The Pilots would tie the score and take the lead at the 13:02 mark, 56-54. The Knights tied the game, but the Pilots went on 5-0 run to take a 61-56 lead with 10:09 remaining.

 

The Knights would tie the game one more time, 64-64, with 5:42 to go before Bethel went on a 4-0 run to take a 68-64 lead. A Knights' three-pointer cut it to one, 68-67, with 3:38 to go, but the Pilots would push the lead to seven, 79-72, with 44 seconds to go.

 

The Knights would not go down without a fight as they were able to knock down a three-pointer with three seconds to go, but Bethel just ran out the final ticks and earned the 85-82 victory.

 

Freshman Jameson Wheeler (Plainfield, Indiana/Plainfield) had a career afternoon with a career-high 23 points, a team-high four rebounds, and three assists to lead the Knights. Sophomore Jordan Tucker (Kirklin, Indiana/Clinton Central) added a game-high 24 points.

 

The Knights were outrebounded 50-22 for the game but shot 54 percent (33-for-61) from the field.

 

Marian College hits the road on Tuesday when it heads up to Marion, Indiana, to take on the No. 7-ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats at Luckey Arena. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.