MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 9 Marietta College men's basketball team saw itself get upset by the Ohio Northern Polar Bears 59-57 on Saturday (Dec. 17) afternoon inside Ban Johnson Arena. The loss drops Marietta's record to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Ohio Northern improves to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the OAC. [Box Score]

Senior post #Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood)# recorded game-highs with 18 points and 11 rebounds on the afternoon. Junior post #Jason Humphrey (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier)# scored 11 points while grabbing five boards. Sophomore guard #Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius)# chipped in with eight points and dished out three assists.

Reco Spears led the way for Ohio Northern with 12 points off the bench including five rebounds. Adam Bair added 11 points and Scott Schnelle chipped in with 10 points and eight boards in the win.

The contest stayed tight throughout the first half, as neither team would lead by more than six points in the first stanza. Both teams struggled from the field in the first half as Northern held slim lead, 28-25, at the break in a low scoring affair.

The tide seemed to shift to the Marietta side in the early moments of the second half. Northern extended the lead to five to 32-27 with 17:55 to play in regulation. The Pioneers then rattled off 16 straight points to take the first double digit lead of the game at 43-32 with 11:50 to play in the second.

The Polar Bears would not go down easy however; as they were able to slow the pace again and chipped away at the lead for the rest of the game. The Polar Bears regained the lead with three seconds left on the clock with two free throws from Spears making the score 59-57. Hammond's desperation three was off the mark as Northern held on for the upset.

The Pioneers finished the game shooting 34.6% (18-of-52) from the field, 27.8% (5-of-18) from behind the arc and 59.3% (16-of-27) from the free throw line.

Ohio Northern finished shooting 39.3% (22-of-56) from the field, 21.4% (3-of-14) from three and 80% (12-of-15) from the charity stripe.

The Polar Bears finished with slim edge on the boards 40-39 and committed 14 turnovers to Marietta's 15.

The Polar Bear bench out-scored Marietta's bench 41-10 for the game.

Marietta returns to action on Wednesday (Dec. 21) night on the road at Wilmington. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.