Early Deficit Too Much to Overcome for Men's Basketball

CRETE, Neb. — Doane nearly erased a 17-point second half deficit Wednesday night, but Mount Marty held on in the final seconds to escape the Haddix Center with a 77-74 GPAC win on Wednesday.

The Tigers (10-10, 5-8 GPAC) trailed 38-26 at the break before catching fire after intermission, outscoring the Lancers 48-39 in the second half and taking a couple of late leads in a back-and-forth finish.

Doane's surge was sparked by Trevon Beckman, who poured in 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, finishing 10-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three. Casen Chaney added 15 points, while Jonan Claussen chipped in 13 with a trio of steals.

After Mount Marty pushed its lead to as many as 17 early in the second half, Doane steadily trimmed the margin behind perimeter shot-making and pressure defense. The Tigers finally grabbed a 59-58 advantage on a Chaney layup with 8:06 left, and Beckman later tied it at 66-66 with a three at the 4:29 mark.

The final minute turned into a free-throw battle. Doane cut it to one twice — most notably on another Chaney finish that made it 74-73 with 0:58 remaining — before Mount Marty's Mac Ryken hit two free throws with 0:24 left to extend the margin to 76-73. Chaney answered at the line to make it 76-74 with 0:03 to go, but Mount Marty's Tyler Sandoval knocked down a free throw with 0:01 left to seal it.

Mount Marty (9-9, 8-5 GPAC) shot 58.0% (29-of-50) for the game and was led by Sutton Arend's 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Sandoval finished with 14, and Jackson Edman posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and a block.

Doane shot 45.9% (28-of-61) overall and 40.9% (9-of-22) from three, and forced 17 Mount Marty turnovers while recording 12 steals. The difference came at the stripe and on the glass, as Mount Marty went 17-of-24 at the free-throw line and held a 35-25 rebounding edge.

The Tigers will be home again on Saturday when they host GPAC-leader, Morningside, at 3:45 p.m.

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