Men's Basketball Marian University athletics communications

Hot Shooting Pushes Marian Past Rockford in NACC Men's Tourney Opener

FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Marian University men's basketball (15-10, 12-4 NACC) took control from the opening tip and never looked back defeating Rockford, 88-64, to open the NACC Tournament.

The third-seeded Sabres will now face second-seeded St. Norbert College in a NACC Tournament semifinal game at 7 p.m. Friday evening in De Pere, Wisconsin.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Marian was able to jump out to a fast 10-0 and force a Rockford timeout in the first 2:33 of the game.
  • The Sabres were able to build their lead to as large as 22 points on a pair of occasions and went into halftime ahead 54-35.
  • Another fast start for Marian in the second half saw the Sabres use an 11-4 run and take a 65-39 advantage.
  • Marian was able to build its lead to as large as 33 in the final minutes with the final score settling at 88-64.
STATS TO KNOW  
  • Marian shot 31-of-61 (.508) for the game and was 9-of-21 (.429) from beyond the arc.  The Sabres also went 17-of-19 (.895) from the charity stripe.
  • The opening half saw Marian go 22-of-32 (.688) from the field.
  • The Sabre defense held Rockford to 21-of-57 (.368) shooting and 3-of-17 (.176) shooting from beyond the arc.
  • Marian was able to force 12 Rockford turnovers and outscored the Regents 15-8 in points off turnovers.
  • Each team had 32 points in the paint.
  LEADERS
  
Carson Talbert
Senior Tyler Gouin had a game-high 33 points to go with six assists and five rebounds.  He also hit all 15 of his attempts at the charity stripe. Senior David Britton added 19 points and had six assists to go with a team-high six rebounds. Senior Carson Talbert scored 16 points and had three blocks on the defensive end.  Talbert scored 14 of his points in the first half.
 
NACC Men's Basketball Tournament
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 21 - moved up due to weather concerns
Game 1 - No. 3 Marian def. No. 6 Rockford, 88-61
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Game 2 - No. 5 Illinois Tech at No. 4 Benedictine, 7 p.m.
Byes: No. 1 Wisconsin Lutheran, No. 2 St. Norbert

Semifinals - Friday, Feb. 24
Game 3 - No. 3 Marian at No. 2 St. Norbert, 7 p.m.
Game 4 - Benedictine/Illinois Tech winner at No. 1 Wisconsin Lutheran, 7 p.m.
 
Final - Sunday, Feb. 26
Semifinal winners at higher seed, TBD