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Issued: December 30, 2006

MARIAN WINS CONSOLATION TITLE OF EAU CLAIRE HOLIDAY CLASSIC

EAU CLAIRE - Marian College of Fond du Lac won the consolation championship of the 38th annual Eau Claire Holiday Classic with a 72-52 triumph over Finlandia University of Hancock, Michigan at the W. L. Zorn Arena here Saturday night.

The Sabres of 19th-year coach Mark Boyle capitalized on Finlandia miscues to build a 40-25 halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half as they evened their season record at 5-5.

Marian dropped into the consolation game with a 73-54 loss to host UW-Eau Claire in the first round Friday but the Sabres bounced back to win their third game in their last four outings against Finlandia. Marian used 13 first-half turnovers by Finlandia to score 12 points and gained nine offensive rebounds which led to another 12 points.

The Sabres finished the half strong, outscoring Finlandia 20-11 over the last 8:36 of the half to go up by 15 at the intermission. After Finlandia made the first bucket of the second half, the Sabres continued to pad their lead which peaked at 25 on two occasions (63-38 and 65-40) before Boyle cleared his bench.

Marian outscored Finlandia, 21-2, on second chance points, building a 43-33 advantage on the boards including 18 on the offensive end. The Sabres also got to the free throw line 23 times compared to just nine for Finlandia.

Of 15 players who saw playing time, Titus Redmond, who looks more like a football linebacker, finished with 16 points to pace Marian. He also had seven rebounds and five steals. The only other player in double figures was Jerid Holewinski who added 11. Logan Rankin came off the bench to pull nine rebounds in 15 minutes to pace the Sabres in that category

Finlandia, which lost for the eighth straight game, was led by guard Tyler Gordon who slashed his way to 13 points. Tucker Thoreson contributed 11. The Lions are now 2-10 for the season.

Marian-Finlandia Box Score

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