Men's Basketball starts off season with win over Marian (Wis.)

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Viterbo University Men's Basketball team played Marian (Wis.) in their season opener on Saturday at home. The V-Hawks defeated the Sabercats, 81-73. 

Marian gained the early 4-0 lead but that would be their largest lead of the game. A Nolan Martin three-pointer and a pair of free throws by Robert Cunitz were the answer to give Viterbo their first lead of the game. Noah Fredrickson contributed four points going into halftime after getting fouled on a made three-pointer and sinking the free throw to follow. This put the V-Hawks up 38-31 going into the locker room. 

Marian converted a three to start the second half, which kicked off a 7-0 run for the Sabercats. Viterbo lost the lead on Marian; however, Cunitz and Nick Malovrh made back-to-back threes to regain the Viterbo lead. A pair of turnovers for the Sabercats led to baskets from Jack Monis and Brady Polk with three minutes remaining in the game to extend the Viterbo lead and secure the win. 

Five different V-Hawks scored double-digit points. Polk led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Cunitz contributed 15 points, Monis tallied 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Fredrickson came off the bench and added 12 points of his own and Malovrh added 11 points. Martin had a team-high four assists. 

Viterbo shot the ball well, converting 47.5 percent of their shots from the floor and 39.1 percent from behind the arc. The V-Hawks only had five turnovers and created 17 points off of Marian's turnovers. 

The V-Hawks will play next Saturday in another home game against Grand View University. The game is set for a 4:00 pm CST start. Follow the action on viterboathletics.com or by following us on social media.