Box Score MARIETTA, Ohio – Marietta College senior
Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield) hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to secure an 81-70 victory over visiting John Carroll University Saturday (Jan. 12) afternoon. Owens finished with 20 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor including all six of his attempts from behind the arc.
The Pioneers stay in second place in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 7-1 league record. Marietta is 11-4 overall. John Carroll falls to 6-8 on the season and 3-5 in the OAC.
The first half was all Marietta as the Pioneers took advantage of John Carroll's shooting woes. The Blue Streaks shot just 26.5% (9-of-34) from the floor in the opening period and trailed Marietta 51-25 at halftime.
Owens and sophomore
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville/Northwestern) helped the Pioneers extend their lead to 25 points, 58-33, with 13:14 left in the game. The pair combined for 11 treys in the game.
The Blue Streaks demonstrated why they are a perennial OAC contender by refusing to go quietly. Over the next eight minutes John Carroll trimmed the Pioneer lead to nine points, 68-59, with just under six minutes remaining.
The teams traded buckets over the next four minutes. A pair of free throws from JCU's Kyle Hubbard with 1:34 on the clock cut the lead to seven, 77-70. Owens provided the dagger to John Carroll's heart with his final three-pointer on the ensuing possession.
In addition to Owens' 20 points, McKean finished with 18 points. Senior #J.J. Martin
scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior (Malvern/Malvern)Jason Humphrey# added seven points and a team-high nine boards, while junior point guard
Tyler Hammond (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) notched nine points and six assists.
John Carroll sophomore Regan Sweeney led all scorers with 29 points. Sweeney hit 12-of-24 shot attempts, including four three-pointers. Senior Kyle Hubbard scored 12 points and sophomore David Hendrickson had 10. Senior Kenny Janz pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
For the game, Marietta shot 50.0% (30-of-60) from the floor, 50.0% (13-of-26) behind the arc and 53.3% (8-of-15) at the charity stripe. John Carroll hit 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the floor, 9-of-29 (31.0%) from long range and 15-of-16 (93.8%) at the line.
Marietta won the battle of the boards by a single rebound, 39-38. John Carroll turned the ball over 14 times, while the Pioneers committed 13 turnovers.
Marietta travels to Capital University on Wednesday (Jan. 16) for a battle for first place in the OAC. The Crusaders are 8-0 in the OAC after defeating Ohio Northern 69-64 on Saturday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
