The Dominican University men's basketball team tried to overcome a 17-point second half deficit but came up short in a 61-54 loss to the Marian University Sabres on Saturday evening in River Forest. Josh Mayberry (Canton, Mich.) scored a game-high 25 points, 23 in the second half, in the losing effort for Dominican.
 
With Marian holding its largest lead of the game, 39-22, with just over 14 minutes to play, Kevin Mack (Detroit, Mich.) sparked a 10-1 run for the Stars with an 18-foot jumper near the top of the key.
 
After the Sabres put a brief stop to the run, Mayberry eventually pulled Dominican within six, 44-38, as he knocked down a three with 8:13 to play.  The Stars gave up a pair of offensive rebounds on Marian's next possession with Carvell Oliver eventually burying a three to push the Sabres lead back to nine.
 
Mayberry scored the next four points, including a pull-up jumper in transition as the Stars narrowed the gap to five, 47-42, with 5:46 remaining.
 
Over the next minute and a half, Marian rebuilt the lead back up to 11 before Dominican went on an 8-1 run capped by a lay-in by freshman Tim Robertson (Chicago, Ill.) to trim the Sabres' lead to four, 56-52, with under a minute to play but that was as close as the Stars would get.
 
The Stars shot 35.2 percent from the field (19-for-54), including 3-for-19 from three.  Marian was 17-for-55 from the field, 6-for-20 from three.  Dominican turned the ball over a season-high 24 times leading to 23 points off of turnovers for the Sabres.
 
Marian was led by Oliver's 12 points with Josh Creed and Drew Binversie adding ten points apiece.
 
Dominican, now 0-5 on the year and 0-2 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), will travel to Rockford on Tuesday to take on the Rockford University Regents.  Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.