LAS VEGAS – The University of Chicago men's basketball team fell behind early and wasn't able to recover in a 78-65 loss to Marietta College at the D3hoops.com Classic on Tuesday.

The Maroons evened their record at 5-5. The No. 8-ranked Pioneers improved to 7-2.

A fast start by Marietta put the Pioneers in the driver's seat. They held an 18-5 lead after six minutes of play. UChicago committed six turnovers in that time, and Marietta took advantage of that category throughout the contest.

The Maroons closed on a 7-2 run over the final five minutes to draw within 43-35 at the halftime break. Senior Brandon Beckman had the hot hand with 12 points in the half, including a trio of three-pointers. Junior Bryce Hopkins was close behind with 10 points.

The Pioneers jumped out with an 8-2 streak to start the second half that stretched their advantage to 51-37. A trey by Beckman and a layup from junior Skyler Twyman got the deficit back to within single digits. But Marietta did not allow UChicago to draw any closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Three-pointers were launched early and often by the Maroons, as 36 of their 49 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc. But UChicago was limited to 27.8 percent shooting from deep.

On the other side, Marietta attempted 18 more field goals thanks in large part to the turnover disparity. The Pioneers caused 20 turnovers while only committing five themselves. As a result, they led the points off turnovers category 22-6.

Beckman paced the squad with 17 points while adding five rebounds and three assists. Hopkins converted 12 of 14 free throws and finished with 16 points and six boards. Junior Alec Bryan buried a trio of threes to end up with nine points and five rebounds.

UChicago shot 36.7 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from three-point range (10-36) and 79.2 percent from the free throw line (19-24). The Maroons won the rebounding battle 43-34.

Marietta shot 44.8 percent on field goals, 38.5 percent on threes (10-26) and 47.1 percent on free throws (8-17).

NEXT GAME:

• Wednesday, Dec. 29 @ 7:00 PM (PT) – UChicago vs. Maryville College (at Las Vegas, Nev.)