MARIETTA, Ohio — Head Coach Jon VanderWal's Marietta College team was riding high after winning three out of its last four games heading into Wednesday (Jan. 27) night's match-up with visiting Mount Union College. The Pioneers, however, ran into a very physical Purple Raider team that muscled its way to a 65-62 victory inside Ban Johnson Arena. [Box Score]

The loss dropped the Pioneers' record to 8-10 overall and 4-7 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Mount Union improved to 7-11 overall and 5-6 in the OAC.

The two teams battled hard throughout the first half with each spending short periods of time with a two-possession advantage. The Purple Raiders scored the final four points of the half to go in the locker room leading 30-28.

Mount Union took control in the early stages of the second half and builts its lead to 15 points, 58-43, with 8:44 to go in regulation. A VanderWal timeout sparked a 15-2 Pioneer run over the next four minutes, pulling the home side within a basket, 60-58, with 2:55 to play. The Purple Raiders, however, never relinquished the lead. Mount Union led by three points, 65-62, with seven seconds on the clock, but Purple Raider guard Ben Hodkinson missed the back end of a one-and-one, which gave the Pioneers one final shot to tie the game. A Trevor Halter (Malvern, Malvern) three from the left wing was off target as the final buzzer sounded, helping the Purple Raiders escape with a 65-62 win.

Kevin Knab (Lakewood, Lakewood) paced Marietta with 19 points and game-high 10 rebounds. Halter followed with 16 points, while fellow sophomore Joe Puch (Brunswick, Brunswick) chipped in with 12 points on the night.

Sam King led the Purple Raiders with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Hodkinson added 13 points, while Matt Kiger scored 10 off the bench in the win.

Marietta finished the game 17-of-45 (37.8%) from the field, 6-of-20 (30.0%) from the three-point line but just 22-of-32 (68.8%) from the free throw line. Mount Union shot 22-of-53 (41.5%) from the field, 5-of-11 (45.5%) from three and 16-of-20 (80.0%) from the charity stripe. The Pioneers held a 37-29 advantage on the glass, but committed 14 turnovers to Mount Union's eight.

Marietta is back in action Saturday (Jan. 30) afternoon at Baldwin-Wallace College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.