MILWAUKEE - The MSOE basketball team started and finished strong in picking up a 77-66 victory over first-place Marian Wednesday evening at the Kern Center.

The Raiders (17-4, 12-4 NACC) led from wire to wire, but had to hold off a stiff charge by the Sabres (16-5, 14-2 NACC) in the middle of the game to get the win.

Sophomore Austin Stueck scored a game-high 24 points for MSOE. Senior John Cording added 17 to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Alex Stecker led Marian, which saw its nine-game winning streak snapped, with 13 points. Cody Veleke was the only other double-digit scorer, finishing with 10.

MSOE used hot shooting to jump on the Sabres early. The Raiders scored the first 13 points of the game and hit nine of their first 10 shots to build a 28-9 advantage by the midpoint of the frame.

At that point the Red and White went cold and the visitors capitalized. The Sabres responded with a 13-4 run to cut their deficit to 10, then ended the half on a 10-3 run to make it just a six-point game at 41-35.

MSOE missed 11-straight shots as MU battled back, but stayed in the game at the free throw line.

Stecker hit a three-pointer to start the second half scoring and make it a one-possession game. The Raiders immediately responded with a 20-5 run.

Junior Garrison Glowniak scored seven points during the run, taking a steal coast-to-coast, hitting a pair of free throws and beating the shot clock from the top of the key to make it 59-43. Stueck then capped the run with a pair of free throws to make it an 18-point game with 7:33 to play.

Marian would not go away, responding with three-straight baskets. It did what it could to hang with the Raiders, getting within seven in the final minutes, but could not overcome steady free throw shooting by the Red and White down the stretch. The home team hit 12-of-16 free throws over the final 7:33, making just a pair of field goals in that time.

MSOE went to the free throw line 45 times in the game, converting 37 (82.2%). The team shot 46.2 percent from the field on just 39 field goal attempts.

The Raiders are back in action Saturday, hosting Benedictine at the Kern Center.