Southsider Voice correspondent
The local college basketball season is getting exciting as the Marian University men’s team won its away games last week against Grace and Taylor.
The No. 13 Knights (19-3, 7-3 Crossroads League) defeated Grace 65-60 behind the 26 points of Franklin Central graduate Dion Smith, who has scored 20 or more points 22 times for Marian.
Smith also shined in the 75-71 win over Taylor, tallying 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while dishing out four assists and blocking four shots. He has seven double-doubles on the season.
The Knights were at No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday (result unavailable at press time).
The No. 3 lady Knights (19-3, 10-3) had an equally impressive week as they upped their winning streak to 11 by downing Grace 79-55 and Taylor 77-56. Roncalli graduate Kellie Kirkhoff scored 10 points against Grace.
Next up is a road game against No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan today before hosting Huntington at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The women’s team from the University of Indianapolis (5-14, 3-6 Great Lakes Valley Conference) split a pair of games last week, defeating Illinois Springfield 60-53 after being down 14 in the second half and losing 54-51 to McKendree (Illinois).
The team is on the road Thursday and Saturday against Southern Indiana and Bellarmine (Louisville), respectively.
The men’s squad upped its record to 14-3 (8-1) with two wins last week. The Hounds defeated Illinois Springfield 103-77 behind the 25 points of Roncalli graduate Jimmy King and knocked off McKendree 78-73 on Jordan Loyd’s 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining. King scored 17.
These teams boast some fine players from our local high schools. I’m having a blast attending these games.