MARIETTA, Ohio — For the second straight game, Head Coach Jon VanderWal's Marietta College men's basketball squad out-hustled its opponent for another Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) win. Saturday (Jan. 16) afternoon's opponent just happened to be #15 Wilmington College, who entered the week undefeated and atop of the Conference standings. The Pioneers snapped a 9-game losing streak against the Quakers with the 74-57 upset. It was also Marietta's first win over a ranked opponent during VanderWal's tenure. [Box Score]

The Pioneers (7-8, 4-5 OAC) were once again led by the sophomore duo of Kevin Knab (Lakewood, Lakewood) and Trevor Halter (Malvern, Malvern). Knab led all scorers with 21 points and added 6 rebounds. Halter scored 17 points and dished out a 3 assists. Senior Matt Kubachka (Shade, Alexander) scored 5 points and collected a game-high 8 rebounds in the victory. Sophomore Joe Puch (Brunswick, Brunswick) added 9 points, while freshman Tyler Worstell (Prospect, Franklin Heights) pitched in with 7 points, 5 boards and a game-best 5 assists.

The Quakers (12-4, 7-2 OAC) were led by Tyler White with 19 points and 3 rebounds. Tyler Ledford added 18 points and recorded 4 assists.

The two teams traded baskets in a first half that featured 7 lead changes and 4 ties. Just as the Pioneers would build a small lead, the Quakers would come right back to snag back the advantage. Marietta took the lead for good after a Conner Kilpatrick (Bowling Green, Bowling Green) jumper put the Pioneers up 22-21 with 5:49 to go in the first half. Marietta pushed its lead to as many as 9 points in the first stanza and would lead 39-33 at the break.

The high-pressure Wilmington defense kept attacking the young Pioneer backcourt, only to be answered by big bucket after big bucket throughout the second half. Marietta stretched its lead to 13 points, 57-44, with 11:44 left in regulation. Wilmington responded with a 9-2 run over the next 4 minutes to cut the deficit to 6 points, 59-53, with 7:26 remaining. It was the Pioneer defense that responded, however, as they held the Quakers to only 4 points the rest of the way. The Quakers failed to score over the last 5:19 of the game and the Pioneers went on to win by 17, 74-57.

The Pioneers finished the day shooting 27-of-53 (50.9%) from the field, 5-of-14 (35.7%) from three-point range and 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the free throw line.  The Quakers shot 23-of-55 (41.8%) from the field, 3-of-15 (20.0%) from long range and 8-of-15 (53.3%) from the free throw line. The Pioneers out rebounded the Quakers 41-24, while the Quakers turned the ball over 13 times compared to Marietta's 17.

The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday (Jan. 19) night for a non-conference match-up at Carnegie Mellon University. Tip-off in Pittsburgh, Pa., is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.