TIFFIN, Ohio — Freshman Jacob Owens (Mansfield, Mansfield) scored a career-best 20 points in Marietta's 78-71 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) men's basketball loss to host Heidelberg University Saturday (Dec. 12) afternoon. [Box Score]

Owens connected on 5-of-10 from the field, all from long range. Senior Matt Kubachka (Shade, Alexander) added 13 points and 5 rebounds, while sophomore Kevin Knab (Lakewood, Lakewood) had 11 points and 6 boards. In addition, senior Daun Lutes (New Matamoras, Frontier) pitched in with a game-best 9 boards in the loss.

Jim Smalley led all players with 22 points for Heidelberg. Nate Davis finished with 13 points, and Matt Grieves came off the bench to contribute 11 points and 6 rebounds.

There were 6 ties in the first half, including 29-29 with 6:00 left in the period. Heidelberg, however, took control with a 8-3 run down the stretch to take a 37-32 advantage into intermission.

The Student Princes (5-3, 2-1 OAC) then opened the second half with a 20-8 run over the first 7 minutes to extend their lead to 17 points, 57-40. Marietta (3-4, 1-3 OAC) fought back to within 4 points, 66-62, with 5 minutes to play but could not close the gap entirely and fell 78-71.

Heidelberg shot a blistering 55.6% (30-of-54) from the field and added 17-of-20 (85.0%) from the line. Marietta finished 24-of-54 (44.4%) overall, including 10-of-19 (52.6%) from beyond the arc, to go along with 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the free throw line. The Pioneers out rebounded the Student Princes 30-28 but committed 20 turnovers compared to Heidelberg's 15.

Marietta will look to bounce back on Tuesday (Dec. 15) night when Adrian College visits Ban Johnson Arena for a tip-off at 7:30 p.m.