MARIETTA, Ohio — A great defensive effort by Head Coach
Jon VanderWal's Marietta College squad earned it a hard fought Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) 69-55 victory over visiting Otterbein College Wednesday (Jan. 13) night at Ban Johnson Arena. With the win, the Pioneers improved to 6-8 overall and 3-5 in the OAC. Otterbein fell to 4-11 overall and 2-6 in the OAC. [
Box Score]
As was the case many times a year ago, Marietta's one-two sophomore punch of
Kevin Knab (Lakewood, Lakewood) and
Trevor Halter (Malvern, Malvern) led the way in the victory. Knab finished with a game-high 17 points and team-high 7 boards, while Halter added 15 points and 5 rebounds of his own. On the defense end, sophomore
Joe Puch (Brunswick, Brunswick) and freshman
Brian Crader (Thornville, Sheridan) had the daunting task of guarding Brian Pollock, the OAC's second leading scorer. The two held Pollock to just 3-of-16 (18.7%) from the field, including 1-of-7 (14.2%) from behind the arc. Pollock finished with 9 points.
Cory Ratai led the Cardinals with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Chris Davis chipped in with 10 points and collected a game-high 9 boards in the loss.
Both teams flip flopped the lead during the first half with the Cardinals holding a 33-31 advantage with only 7 seconds remaining in the period. Freshman
Tyler Worstell (Prospect, Franklin Heights), however, took the inbound pass and moved the ball just inside of mid-court before burying a three-pointer at the buzzer, bringing the Fenton Court crowd to its feet and giving the Pioneers a 34-33 lead at intermission.
The Cardinals would not let down in the second half. Otterbein held a slim advantage until a
Jacob Owens (Mansfield, Mansfield) three-pointer, his first shot of the game, sparked an 18-4 run over the final 7:11 of the game that propeled the Pioneers to the 69-55 victory.
The Pioneers finished the game 26-of-52 (50.0%) from the field, 4-of-15 (26.7%) from long range and 13-of-20 (65.0%) from the free throw line. Otterbein shot 24-of-63 (38.1%) from the field, 1-of-15 (6.7%) from behind the arc and 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the free throw line. The Cardinals held a slight edge in rebounding, 37-36, and committed 12 turnovers to Marietta's 13.
The Pioneers are back in action when they welcome first place Wilmington College to Fenton Court for a tip-off at 3 p.m.
