INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The IU Southeast men's basketball team defeated Marian 76-70 on Saturday.
 
The first half began tightly contested as IU Southeast held an 18-17 lead. Marian tied the game at 22-22, but a 13-2 run gave the Grenadiers a 35-24 lead. IU Southeast led 37-27 at halftime.
 
Marian cut the lead to four at 39-35 to open the second half but a 10-3 run gave the Grenadiers another double-digit lead at 49-38.
 
Marian cut the lead to five at 58-53 but a quick 6-1 run put the Grenadiers ahead 64-54 with 3:22 left.
 
The Knights had a chance to make it a one-score contest with two minutes remaining, but a missed three and a layup by the Grenadiers put IU Southeast in front 68-60 with 1:14 left.
 
A couple threes down the stretch cut the IU Southeast lead to four, but it was Grenadiers who held on for a 76-70 victory.
 
Jaden Johnson led IU Southeast with 20 points and five steals. Trent Hinkle had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Nathaniel Hoffman had 10 points and seven rebounds. Eli Meyer and Bailey Temming were key off the bench, as the pair combined for 15 points and 13 rebounds.
 
IU Southeast shot 43.3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent (8-24) from three and 66.7 percent (16-24) from the free throw line. Marian shot 33.8 percent from the field, 29.6 percent (8-27) from three and 72 percent (18-25) from the line.
 
"We won, but it wasn't pretty," IU Southeast head coach Wiley Brown said. "We have to stop fouling so much and play defense with our feet and chest. We were 8-24 from 3. We had great looks but couldn't knock them down. I'm not worried about that. Defense wins championships, and that's my concern. Before the season started, we said the two things we needed to do to win games were defense and rebounding. In practice, we will shoot more free throws when we are tired. Back to the lab!"
 
IU Southeast moves to 4-2 on the season. The Grenadiers return to action on Wednesday for a road contest at Miami-Middletown.