LA VERNE, Calif. — Junior #Trevor Halter (Malvern/Malvern)# drilled a 22-foot three-pointer with four-tenths of a second left on the clock to keep the Marietta College men's basketball team's undefeated season alive and give the Pioneers a 68-66 non-conference victory over host University of La Verne (Calif.) Thursday (Dec. 30) night. [Box Score] [Watch game-winning shot]

Marietta (12-0), playing on the west coast for a second straight day, was tested for 40 minutes against La Verne (5-5). Neither team led by more than four points and the score was tied on 13 occasions.

A jumper by Sam Adams gave the Leopards a 66-65 advantage with 1:03 remaining in the game. Following a quick turnover, the Pioneers came through with a defensive stand to get the ball back with 12 seconds to play. Freshman #Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius)# pushed the ball up the floor and found Halter open for the game-winner.

Halter finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Junior #Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood)# followed with 16 points and a game-best seven rebounds, while Hammond had 10 points, freshman #Andrew Seaman (Hillsboro/Peebles )# contributed eight points and sophomore #Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield)# finished with seven points in the win.

Trevor Woodlad paced four La Verne players in double figures. he scored 14 points, while teammates Austin Napolitano, Adams and John Leggett added 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Marietta shot 45.6% (26-of-57) from the floor, while La Verne shot 44.9% (22-of-49). The Leopards controlled the boards and out rebounded the Pioneers 36-28. Marietta, however, scored 29 points off 19 La Verne turnovers, while gave the ball away 12 times, which led to 12 points.

The Pioneers return to Ohio Athletic Conference play Wednesday (Jan. 5) night when they visit the University of Mount Union for a tip-off at 7:30 p.m.