MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's basketball team still has control of its own Ohio Athletic Conference destiny after a 73-48 drubbing of first place Capital University Wednesday (Feb. 15) night inside a raucous Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers (17-7) and Crusaders (15-9) now sit a three-way tie for first place in the OAC along with John Carroll with 12-5 league records. [Box Score]

Marietta will go for its second straight regular season league title on Saturday (Feb. 18), as it will host John Carroll at 3 p.m. If Marietta wins, it will clinch at least a share of the league title and the number one seed in next week's OAC tournament.

Marietta came out of the gates looking to set the tone of the night from the outside. A pair #Trevor Halter (Malvern/Malvern)# three-pointers help the Pioneers build an early 10-6 lead just 4:49 into the first half. Capital responded with an 11-2 run to claim the lead at 17-12 with 11:54 left in the half.

Marietta tied the game at 21-21 at the 2:29 mark in the first half before Capital went on a 6-0 run to lead 27-21 with 1:34 left before halftime. Marietta quickly responded scoring the final five points of the stanza and trailed 27-26 at intermission.

Jon VanderWal's halftime speech must have been a good one. The Pioneers came out firing on all cylinders in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Crusaders 47-21 in the second stanza.

Marietta started the second half on a 29-8 run through the first 10 minutes. The Pioneers matched its first half output of 26 points just 9:39 into the second period. Marietta pushed the lead to as many 26 points as it cruised down the stretch winning convincingly, 73-48.

Junior post #J.J. Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington)# led the Pioneers with 15 points and five boards on the night. Halter scored 11 points with two assists and sophomore guard #Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius)# chipped in with 10 points and three assists.

Senior post #Conner Kilpatrick (Bowling Green/Bowling Green)# added six points with a game-high seven rebounds. Senior post #Kevin Knab (Lakewood/Lakewood)# scored six points and also grabbed seven rebounds in the win as 10 Pioneers finished the game in the scoring column.

Spencer Niekamp led Capital with eight points while Kelly Winter scored seven with two assists.

The Pioneers shot 51.9% (28-of-54) from the field, 48.1% (13-of-27) from three-point range and 100% (4-of-4) from the free throw line.

Capital finished the game shooting 36.4% (20-of-55) from the field, 40% (6-of-15) from behind the arc and 50% (2-of-4) from the free throw line.

The Pioneers led in rebounding 35-28 and committed 11 turnovers to Capital's 12. The Pioneers converted 19 points off Crusader turnovers.

Saturday will also be Senior Day for the men's basketball team. Seniors Knab, Kilpatrick, Halter and #Joe Puch (Brunswick/Brunswick)# will be honored prior to the start of the John Carroll game.