Box Score MARIETTA, Ohio – It took five extra minutes, but the Marietta College men's basketball team was able to stay perfect in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a 67-61 overtime victory over the visiting Ohio Northern Polar Bears Wednesday (Jan. 2) night inside Ban Johnson Arena.
The win moves Marietta's overall record to 9-3 on the year and 5-0 in the OAC. Ohio Northern falls to 6-6 overall and 2-3 in the OAC.
No lead surpassed more than seven points in the game that featured six ties and eight lead changes. Marietta controlled much of the first half, pushing its lead to seven points on two occasions, the last being at 24-17 with 6:23 to play before halftime. The Polar Bears were able to outscore the Pioneers 13-8 in the final minutes of the stanza to trail 32-30 at the break.
The Pioneers held the Polar Bears to 42.9% shooting in the first half, but turned the ball over 12 times in the first 20 minutes keeping Ohio Northern within striking distance.
Ohio Northern took control early in the second half taking a 45-40 lead with 12:09 to play in regulation. Marietta fought back to take the lead twice down the stretch, only to be answered with a Polar Bear run.
The Polar Bears looked to steal the road win leading 59-54 with 1:31 to play in regulation. After a
Matt Napier (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) layup cut the lead to 59-56, the Polar Bears missed a layup giving Marietta a chance to tie the game with 32 seconds on the clock.
Head Coach
Jon VanderWal drew up the perfect play out of the Pioneer timeout when
Brennan McKean (Jeromesville/Northwestern) found a streaking
Jacob Owens (Mansfield/Mansfield) off a screen, and Owens did the rest, draining a fade-away three to knot the game at 59-59 and forcing overtime.
Both teams struggled to score in the extra stanza with the Polar Bears scoring its only points of the overtime at 3:35 mark to lead 61-59. McKean gave Marietta the lead for good with a trey from the corner putting the Pioneers ahead 62-61 with 2:22 to play. Marietta added a
Tyler Worstell (Prospect/Franklin Heights) layup and pair of #J.J. Martin# free throws to win 67-61 in overtime.
Martin and McKean each led the Pioneers in scoring with 15 points. Martin grabbed 11 boards while McKean snagged seven rebounds. Napier recorded another double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, including six offensive boards. Worstell recorded a game-high four assists in the win.
Dominique Royal led all scorers with 16 points and four steals. Branden Rushton added 11 points for the Polar Bears while Jared Horstman chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Marietta finished the game shooting 37.5% (24-of-64) from the floor, 26.1% (6-of-23) from behind the arc and 72.2% (13-of-18) from the charity stripe. Ohio Northern finished the game shooting 40.4% (23-of-57) from the field, 25% (5-of-20) from the three-point line and 66.7% (10-of-15) from the free throw line.
The Pioneers held a commanding edge on the glass 48-34 but committed 17 turnovers to the Polar Bears 13.
Marietta returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 5) afternoon, as it will face off at conference foe Baldwin Wallace. Tip-off is slated for 3 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.
