No. 14 Marian runs away with 88-68 win over Pride

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Following a strong performance the previous night, the Clarke University men's basketball team fell short against No. 14 Marian on Saturday in an 88-68 defeat.

In a final score that does not indicate how competitive the game was played, the Pride held a 52-50 lead with just under 13 minutes to go in the second half. That's when the Knights would take control and eventually pull away as they went on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes that would extend to a 14-3 run as they led 64-55. 

The closest that CU would pull to was a five point deficit twice, the latest being a 69-64 MU lead with 5:24 remaining after a shooting foul and technical called against Marian saw Keith Johnson and Jordan Lake go a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Clarke couldn't keep momentum on their side however as the Knights would finish the game on a 19-4 run to pull away at the end with a little help from a pair of CU technicals as well.

Johnson finished with a team-high 21 points on 6-of-11 (54.5%) shooting from the field and 5-of-9 (55.6%) from three-point range as he added six rebounds, two steals, and two blocked shots. Lake finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 (41.7%) shooting from the field while adding nine assists and four rebounds.

Some of the depth that showed up for CU last night was lacking as Jacob Fierst and Chandler Dean added 13 and 12 respectively but the rest of the team finished with a combined eight points. 

The game's leading scorer was Marian's Malek Edmonds who scored 22 points on 8-of-12 (66.7%) shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds and adding a pair of assists. He was one of two players in double figures for the Knights but nine total players made multiple shots from the field in the game including 29 points coming from the MU bench in the game compared to just six for Clarke.

The Pride won't play another regular season game unitl Nov. 19 when they face Valley City State University but they will square off with St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minn. in an exhibition next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. CT.