INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian University men's basketball team cruised to the title game of the 2009 Marian University Holiday Tournament with an 88-61 victory over the Culver-Stockton College Wildcats at the Physical Education Center on Friday night.

The Knights improved to 5-5 on the season, while the Wildcats dropped to 2-9.

Junior Anthony Furlin (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) led four Knights in double figures with a game-high 28 points, while junior Jordan Tucker (Kirklin, Ind./Clinton Central) added 19 points.

The two teams went back-and-forth over the first six minutes as there were five lead changes and two ties to leave the teams tied at 5-5 with 13:53 to go in the first half. A free throw put the Wildcats up 6-5 before the Knights went on an 8-0 run to take a 13-6 lead with 12:17 to go.

A CSC layup ended the run, but the Knights out-scored the Wildcats 20-7 over the next 8:40 to open a 20-point lead at 33-13 with 2:37 to go in the half. The Wildcats were able to close to within 15 points by out-scoring the Knights, 7-2, over the final two minutes to head into the locker room with a 35-20 score line.

The Knights came out of the locker room and went on a 10-2 run to open a 21-point lead, and, after a CSC three-pointer, the Knights went on a 6-0 run to open a 24-point lead at 51-27 with 16:10 remaining in the game.

The Wildcats answered with an 11-1 run to cut the gap to 14, 52-38, with 13:39 to go, but the Knights were far from done. A 13-0 MU run pushed the lead to 27 points, 65-38, with 10:33 remaining. CSC was able to cut it back to 22 with eight minutes to go, but a quick 8-0 run that took just 57 seconds gave the Knights a 30-point lead, 76-46, with 6:36 to go.

The Wildcats could only get within 25 points over the final six minutes as the Knights cruised to the 27-point win, 88-61.

The Knights capitalized on 17 CSC turnovers to the tune of 12 points and had a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points. They also were able to run the floor as they out-scored the Wildcats by an 11-2 margin in fast break points.

In addition to Furlin and Tucker, freshman Mac Fiely (Greenville, Ind./Greenville) tallied 14 points and handed out four assists, while sophomore Alex Sylvester (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) added 14 points. Junior Brandon Malone (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) dished out a game-high five assists for the Knights.

The Knights will take on the Brescia University in the championship game of the Marian University Holiday Tournament at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Bearcats defeated the 19th-ranked Davenport University Panthers, 74-53, in Friday night's second game. Culver-Stockton College will take on Davenport University at 1 p.m. in the consolation game.

The games will have LIVE STATISTICS provided at www.muknights.com, while the Marian University game will air LIVE at www.muknights.com.